Magic
by Jessica Mitch
Summary: Three words: Hogwarts, Glee, & Dalton. This is a story of six friends in four different houses with seven years' worth of teenage drama. Growing up is never easy, the teenage rollercoaster of emotions is proof of that. Sparks WILL fly.
1. The Year They Got Together

**Important A/N:** Hello there reader. I hope you enjoy this lovely piece of fanfiction because the second chapter won't be up in... a few months. If you noticed, I'm going to do only seven chapters, one chapter per school year. It won't be easy, but I hope you stay though (please stay with me). Review and stuff. And if you have questions, I have a tumblr (musicalbookworm) or you could message me, because I'm quite pleasant and I will answer your questions. Also, if you follow me on tumblr, you would see updates on whether or not I'm writing the chapters. You could check my progress because I ramble about it being 75% done and such.

The Glee characters are from Fox and the Dalton characters (the majority of them) are from CP Coulter. The Wizarding world is property of our Queen Rowling. (Oh dear God, I hope I didn't butcher them). You'll see them again in a couple of months (I've started writing year 2 and I'm currently stuck, I'm losing my mind). Also, it's crossover because it's Hogwarts and Glee. It's (I think) a technicality.

Love lots!

* * *

><p>Derek was far too short for walking through the dense crowd of Diagon Alley with his parents arguing about how they should've came early. "I <em>told <em>you so." Rachel Breaker said. "I _told_ you that there would be a lot of people here. I didn't understand why you didn't let us go without you."

"Love, I _wanted_ to go, remember? I wanted to be here _with_ Derek." Noah Breaker retorted, looking up brightly at the stores. He looked especially happy when a woman conjured up three scoops of ice cream for a girl in a nearby shop.

"_Oh, please_. You just wanted to come so you could watch my people walk around and do whatever it is they do that makes you so amused." Derek rolled his eyes. _This is what I get for being a half-blood. _"I have half a mind to make you small enough to keep in a pocket!"

"You wouldn't dare." His dad glared.

She whipped her wand out and Derek immediately jumped in between them. "Guys, _please_, we're in public." His parents glared at each other for one more second before both of them sighed and relaxed.

"You're right. We're sorry, honey." His mom said and kissed his cheek. He wrinkled his face and laughed a bit. Unlike children his age, he didn't shy away from motherly love. "Now, let's get you to Hilde's shop for robes, shall we? And just think! You might see Reed there!"

"He said he'll be there." Derek grinned. "We promised each other we'll go for our requirements together." His parents led him to a new shop in Diagon Alley called "Van Kamp Robes". It was a shop owned by one of his mother's dearest friends, Hilde Van Kamp. As they entered, Hilde was busy measuring a boy taller than her and Reed was sitting behind her on a stool.

"Honestly, Finn, it seems like only yesterday I gave you your second set of robes!"

"I'm sorry, Madam Van Kamp, I – I guess I had another growth spurt." Finn Hudson grimaced a little bit and shot an apologetic look at his mother. They weren't really the richest wizarding family around and Van Kamp Robes were cheaper than Madam Malkin's (the Second Hand Robe shop didn't have any robes that would fit Finn either), but that didn't help Finn to feel less guilty for his mother.

"It's okay, Finn. Really." Carole smiled tiredly. She wondered silently if she could sell his old robes.

"_Accio_, needle." Hilde pointed her wand and easily caught the needle flying her direction. "What have you been feeding him, Carole?" She joked.

"Hilde!" Rachel greeted.

"Rachel?" Hilde looked up. "Oh Rachel, darling! So lovely to see you! I've been expecting you; Reed's been waiting since morning."

"We _would've_ gotten here sooner if Noah had let us."

"I had a client waiting. An _important_ client!"

"Yes, well. We wouldn't want to disturb your muggle gatherings, Noah." Hilde smirked as she flicked her wand at Finn's direction. The needles and measuring tape snapped to work. "Excuse me while I attend to Finn over there and I'll get to Derek, alright?"

"Of course. Derek, go to Reed. Behave okay?" The request wasn't necessary but it felt safe to tell her son that. Derek nodded and walked towards his best friend for so many years. Reed smiled and jumped off the stool.

"Hi," Reed smiled, "nervous? It's in a week."

"Yeah, a little bit… What if we don't get sorted into the same houses?" Derek answered worriedly.

Reed shrugged. "We'll see each other. I don't think anything would really separate us."

"I can't wait to get to the library. I heard they had the best."

"You and your books."

"Well, you and your clothes." Derek smirked, looking up and down at Reed's stylish get up. The things his mum made him wear were ridiculous in Derek's opinion, but Reed likes it, Hilde likes it, why make a scene about it? "What are you going to do now that we have to wear school robes every day?"

"Make it work." Reed chuckled. "I just hope that I won't trip all the time."

"I'll try to be there for you." Derek knew a couple of spells that would stop Reed from falling. He'd practice with his mother's wand. Since Reed came over from time to time, Rachel couldn't help but use those spells every other minute. Now that they were going to Hogwarts soon, she thought it was best if she taught Derek in advance. Hilde shared the same sentiment.

Soon as she finished with the Hudsons, Hilde turned to Derek excitedly and did her work quickly. A few minutes after that, Reed had his first accident since Derek arrived. He tripped on some fabric on the floor and he shot out his hand, grabbing a sewing kit and it flew in the air with him.

"_Immobulus!_" Hilde cried and everything stopped. Reed blinked, his eyes showing some fear. "Derek, if you please." After Reed had been pulled out from danger, they got out to buy their books with Derek's parents. Luckily they didn't have to buy much, most of the books they already had. They were hand-me-downs from their mothers and Reed's father.

They were given some money and Noah told them that they would buy the boys' Potion sets while the boys could buy their new pets. They would meet at Ollivander's in ten minutes so they wouldn't get lost. Rachel was very particular on watching Derek get his wand.

"These books are heavy." They heard as a grumbling boy carried a huge stack of books. "Why did I agree to carry these again?"

"Because, Puckerman, you lost the duel." Santana smiled a sickeningly sweet smile over her shoulder as one of her friends toiled over the combined weight of both of their second year books.

"Give me my wand, Lopez. I want a rematch!" Puck demanded.

"You wish." She sang and she bumped into someone. "Watch it." She snarled at a girl wearing an outfit with a huge teddy bear in front. Her eyes bulged and she muttered a quick apology before scurrying away and bumping into Derek. She squeaked.

"Hey, didn't see you there." Derek smiled. "Are you lost?"

"No. I'm perfectly fine; I'm just going to buy a cat all by myself. My dads let me." She smiled wide. Both Reed and Derek looked surprised at the sound of "Dads" but she said it like it was the most natural thing in the world so they didn't really mind. "Hi, I'm Rachel Berry."

"I'm Reed Van Kamp. That's Derek Breaker." He pointed at his friend and he waved his hand.

"Are you two buying owls?" She asked and they made their way towards the store. "I'm buying a cat. They're less messy and quieter."

"I'm buying a cat too." Derek said. "But Reed's buying an owl."

"Family tradition." He shrugged.

"Are you going to Hogwarts too?" Rachel asked, positively bouncing with excitement. Derek and Reed nodded. "Wonderful! I wonder if they have a choir. I'm a pretty good singer, you see, and I would like to share my talents everywhere."

"I bet they do." Derek said. "Hogwarts has everything!" He'd been dreaming of Hogwarts since he knew how to say the word.

"Which house do you think you'll be in?" Rachel asked again as they entered the store. She continued talking for the rest of the time they were in the pet store. The two boys appreciated her filling the silence they almost always had. They were quiet and just listened to her ramble on about herself. Most people would find it annoying but they found it comforting. They weren't known for talking a lot, especially since they've known each other since they were babies. Rachel was a good addition.

Reed got an owl, a small one, and he called him Erik. He fluttered around in his cage a lot, and he went crazy when cats were nearby. It didn't help when Rachel carried a Persian cat named Ellyse and Derek carried a tabby named Alec. Reed took it upon himself to walk ahead of them so that Erik wouldn't die of a heart attack. It wasn't the most advisable thing for him since no one would be there to catch him when he tripped. Derek without a wand, and a cat cage in one hand, would have to be extra vigilant.

But of course that wouldn't work. Reed tripped and Derek was slow to react. Luckily someone else caught him. "Woah there!" It was boy with big curly hair. He smiled widely and had Reed back to a normal standing position. "Be careful where you step next time."

Derek chuckled. "He would still trip on a flat surface. Walking around here unprotected is pushing it." Reed rolled his eyes.

"Thanks." He said to the boy. "I'm Reed. That's Derek and that's Rachel."

"Hi there!" Rachel grinned.

"I'm Shane. Is it your first year too?" The three nodded. "Brilliant. Can't wait to see you there. My brother is in second year and I'm really excited to get to go with him this time!"

"Shane! Come on! Stop dilly-dallying!" A woman called.

"I'll see you guys around!" He patted Reed's shoulder before running off. Rachel went off with her dads and promised to see each other at King's Cross. Reed and Derek arrived at Ollivanders with Derek's parents waiting outside. They smiled down at the two and took the cages from them so they could enter the wand shop.

"Hello?" Derek called nervously. An old man popped up from behind the counter and grinned at the two boys. "Mr. Ollivander?"

"Yes." He said. "I assume you're here for wands." He chuckled. They nodded. "Alright, who's first?" Reed and Derek glanced at each other, both urging the other to go first. Finally, Derek decided to go first. "Wand hand please." He stretched out his left hand and was promptly measured and the wandmaker went around the store for a wand. "First years, eh? Well, there is nothing to worry. The wands won't hurt you… Ah." He pulled out a box from one of the shelves and produced a wand. "Here, sycamore with phoenix feather core, eleven and three quarter inches." As soon as Derek touched the wand in his hand, there was a sudden shower of red sparks and his mother clapped excitedly. "First wand and it chose you quickly, lucky, lucky day." Mr. Ollivander smiled and turned to Reed. "Your turn, m' boy."

It took him about five tries before he got his wand. The fourth wand didn't go so well. It slipped from his hand when he tried to wave it and it somehow turned Reed's hair a funny shade of purple. Derek barely controlled his laughter. "That was embarrassing." Reed grumbled as they walked out with their wands wrapped and ready to go.

"I don't know, I thought purple was a good colour on you."

"I can't wait to learn a proper Silencing Charm. It will work greatly to my advantage." Reed glared at his friend. "Then again, I could just throw a book at you."

"My only weakness." Derek chuckled.

"Alright boys, it's been a very productive day." Noah said. "But I think it's best if we go home. It's getting rather late."

"You're just hungry." Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Mum, Dad, stop the madness." Derek groaned.

Reed nodded. "I'll get back to my mum then, see you soon." Derek hugged Reed quickly before he went over to his parents and held tight to his mom and they disapparated to their house.

* * *

><p>"Do you mind if I sit with you guys? Everywhere else is full." A blonde girl smiled apologetically, poking her head in.<p>

"Sure!" Rachel said. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Rachel Berry."

"I'm Derek Breaker."

"Reed Van Kamp."

She smiled wider at their enthusiasm. "I'm Brittany Pierce." She pulled the trunk above her head and pushed it into the space. The three marvelled at her strength. "I did cheerleading before I got accepted…" She looked down at her shoes feeling a bit horrible that she had to say it out loud after seeing all the other magical parents. "I'm a muggle-born."

Derek smiled. "I think muggle-borns have a lot potential. No need to feel bad." She sat down beside Rachel. "If it makes you feel better, I'm a half-blood." He whispered like it was the secret of life. She immediately felt better.

"Okay, now that that's done, I've been telling the boys about this song I've been practicing all my life since I saw _Wicked_ on broadway. It isn't an accurate portrayal of witches by muggles but it's better than others. And the songs are _to die for_!"

"She was about to sing one of the songs." Reed said. "You came just in time."

"Oh wow." Brittany said. "Lovely." Derek looked at her mystified face and chuckled to himself.

"Just to warn you." Rachel began as she stepped on the seat (stage). "My voice is in fact, magical. I have reason to believe that my biological mother was part siren." And she was about to start the song before someone else disturbed. "Oh, come _on_." It was a boy this time. "Hi." She said tightly.

"Hiya, um… mind if I sit? I'd sit with my stepbrother but he and his friends were getting extra rowdy so…"

"Go ahead." Reed said. They introduced themselves again.

"I'm Kurt. Kurt Hummel." He smiled. "What are you doing up there?" He asked Rachel.

"I was about to make them cry with a beautiful rendition of _Defying Gravity_." She smirked.

"Oh. Isn't that from _Wicked_? It's one of my favourite Broadway shows! Mind if I sing with you?"

Even though Rachel thought that it was wonderful to find a potential friend who liked theatre, but she was wary about sharing the stage. "It's a solo…"

"We could sing _For Good_." Kurt smiled. He knew Rachel was being possessive over the stage but he liked to sing too and there was an audience, he'll share if he had to.

"Let him, Rach!" Derek laughed. "It'll be fun!"

She nodded reluctantly. _Friends are important too._ She thought to herself. "Okay. But I get Elphaba's part."

"Deal." Kurt smiled and jumped up beside her. Brittany went across the room to sit beside Reed. Together they sang the song and Rachel had to admit, Kurt was good.

It was the same with Kurt, Rachel had undeniable talent.

They liked each other instantly. After the song, they were asked to sing more by the other three. They stopped before they both lose their voices and it was late anyway. Hogwarts was near and they have yet to change into their robes.

Singing aside, they shared stories of their lives during the last few minutes of their train ride before they were escorted to the boats. By then they were already very good friends and it would be just sad if they were separated after the sorting.

"I'm a pureblood." Rachel said proudly as they followed Hagrid down the path. "My dads made sure that my surrogate was a witch. Daddy V is a muggle-born and Daddy L is a pureblood, if you want to get technical with it." The group chuckled.

"Didn't your Daddy L's family go crazy about your Daddy V being a muggle-born?" Kurt asked.

Rachel just shrugged. "Nope. It was more of a shock that he was gay though. I guess when they found out he was going out with a muggle-born they probably expected that." She giggled.

"I'm a pureblood too." Reed said. "Both my parents are. Loads of my relatives or pretty nice to muggles though." He almost tripped on a root but Kurt had him by the arm before he could reach the ground. "Thanks."

"No problem. As for my parents," Kurt said, "my dad's a half-blood and my mum was a muggle-born."

"Was?" Derek inquired.

"Yeah, she's dead." Kurt expected the wary looks and the apologies. "Oh loosen up… But thank you though." None of them asked how she died, but if you did, Kurt would be proud to say that she defended their house against Death Eaters until the bitter end. Kurt discreetly wiped away a tear when he thought about her and quickly changed the subject. "Dad's remarried to this other muggle-born. She's a really nice stepmom. How about you, Brit?"

"Muggle-born." She smiled faintly. She thought of Kurt's mom and Rachel's dad. Both were muggle-borns and they seemed like exceptional people, what's to stop her to being like them when she grew up? "My mum and dad were pretty surprised that they've got a witch in the family. _I _was really surprised too. I didn't even understand anything the witch from Hogwarts said, but my parents tried their best to explain it to me. They gave up after two hours. It's really nice to be here."

"Derek?" Rachel prodded.

"I'm a half-blood. My mum's the witch, dad's a muggle." He answered. "He found out right after he proposed. They said they'll tell me the whole story when I'm older, whatever that meant. I reckon it was pretty gruesome."

"All righ' first years, here are yer boats. Careful now an' watch yer step." Hagrid said as he stepped into one of the boats, ending the parentage conversation between the five.

Brittany and Rachel went first. Reed followed and he almost fell into the lake, after slipping on the slippery shore.

"_Aresto momentum!_" Derek whipped out his wand immediately and Reed stopped in mid fall. "Someone grab him!" Kurt pulled the small boy from his position and Derek sighed in relief. Some students were staring at them, it was the first time they've seen one of their own use a spell before they've even had classes. "He does that a lot." Derek smiled and went in the boat.

The five of them stayed on the same boat and they were all practically fidgety with excitement. Rachel was trying to relax herself by repeating the pep talk one of her dads gave her. The other four listened intently, hoping that it will calm them as well. Kurt thought it was a little bit weird though, repeating it out loud. They looked up at the dark castle above and watched with awe as they neared. This was it; this was the place they'll be spending the next seven years of their lives in.

Before they knew it, the sorting has started. Rachel was distracted by the beauty of the Great Hall, so distracted in fact that Professor Button had to call her name twice and Reed had to push her forward. She mumbled an apology, feeling embarrassed, before sitting down on the stool. The Sorting Hat was placed on her head and she waited. Her new friends watched intently as she squirmed a little bit under the ratty hat. They jumped back in surprise when the hat announced her house. "_SLYTHERIN!_" The table cheered as their new arrival jumped off the stool and walked towards her new house with a smile on her face.

"Hi, I'm Rachel Berry." She said as she sat down.

"Hi, I don't care." The girl beside her scowled and scooted away. Rachel was taken aback by the hostility and moved away as well.

"Don't mind her." A boy with curly hair smiled at her after shooting the girl a look. "Santana is just having a bad day."

"Shut it, St. James."

"I'm Jesse." He said, ignoring Santana. "Welcome to Slytherin."

* * *

><p>"<em>Oh hello there…<em>" Derek jumped when he hear the hat first speak."_Fair mind. Likes a lot of books I see. But not so bright…_" He scowled at the hat. The hat chuckled. "_Strong bonds with friends… New friends even… A lot of potential… A lot of potential this one._" The hat paused, as if to consider everything."_Better be HUFFLEPUFF!_"

The Hufflepuff table cheered for their new addition and Derek hopped off the stool, glancing at Reed, Kurt and Brittany who have yet to be sorted. Then he glanced at Rachel who was clapping from the Slytherin table. _And the separation begins._ Derek thought sullenly but shook it away. After all, they could still be friends. When he sat down on the bench, he had his back clapped on by everyone in the near vicinity. Even Finn Hudson, who was just beside him, and he said. "You're going to like it here." He leaned in for a whisper. "We're near the kitchens. Food is easy to come by whenever you're hungry late in the evening. And the elves are always nice."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks." Derek smiled.

"Hi, I'm Finn." He said. "I'm Kurt's stepbrother… Noticed that you two were kind of friends…"

"Derek. And yeah, we are. He's nice and really talented."

"Hi Derek." Another boy said. "I'm Blaine; you're in the same year as my brother, Shane. He got sorted into Gryffindor."

"Oh yeah! I saw him in Diagon Alley a week ago. He seems nice."

"That's because you haven't lived with him." Blaine chuckled. "Quite a handful."

* * *

><p>Kurt squirmed beside Brittany and Reed as his name neared. Reed nudged him, noticing the nervous air. "What are you so nervous about? At least you'd be done with it; I'll be one of the last, if I'm not already."<p>

He sighed. "I don't know, I keep having a recurring nightmare that the hat will announce that I'm a squib."

"I think you mean squid." Brittany whispered.

"No. I mean squib." Kurt hissed. "As in, non-magical child born to magical parents."

"Oooooh." She said. "I think the name's cute."

"Hummel, Kurt!"

He squeaked and he started to move towards the seat. Reed and Brittany watched in anticipation as the hat mumbled sweet comments into Kurt's ear and before long he was sorted into Gryffindor. He smiled, relief washed over him and waved to the two before walking to the table. After a series of congratulations and a smile to Finn, he sat down. "Hello!" The twins from earlier grinned down on him. _Wow, they have got to be the tallest eleven year olds I've ever met. They're almost Finn's height! _"I'm Ethan." Said one.

"I'm Evan." Said the other.

"I'm Kurt."

* * *

><p>"Hi, I'm Brittany." She said to the hat.<p>

"…_Hello, Brittany._" It said. "_This is… interesting. What an innocent mind…_"

"Do you have a name?"

"_No._"

"Why don't you?" The teachers eyed this girl warily; no child has ever spoken to the Sorting Hat like that before. She smiled, crossing her eyes to look up at it. It continued mumbling, ignoring the girl. "Hello? Mr. Hat? Are you still there?"

"_HUFFLEPUFF!_"

The hat was lifted from her head and she jumped off the stool. "Goodbye, Mr. Hat. It was nice knowing you." She patted it goodbye before skipping towards the Hufflepuff table where Derek was stretching his arms for a hug. She excitedly pulled him into her arms in a warm hug and she sat down beside him. "Yay!"

* * *

><p>Reed shifted his weight from side to side; he was one of the last students to be sorted along one girl. He turned his head around to meet Derek's eyes. It would be very sad if he wasn't sorted into the same house as Derek. But they could still be friends right? They've been friends since they were babies; would seven years separated change that? Derek smiled reassuringly as if saying "it's okay. We'll still be best friends after this." And even though Reed wasn't sure if that was what the smile meant, it was a nice thought to keep. "Van Kamp, Reed." He shakily went up to the stool and the hat was placed on his curly hair. <em>Mom shuddered when she mentioned this hat.<em>

"_Ah, Hilde Van Kamp's son, eh?_" Reed sat ramrod straight, the hat chuckled. "_I remember her very well. Sorted her into Slytherin. But do you fit in the same place…? Hmmm…_" He bit into his lip as the hat continued on. He felt the sting of biting into his lip too much and he was pretty sure he started to bleed. His eyes swivelled to the girl, the last student. She glared at the hat, willing it to finish. "_RAVENCLAW!_"

Reed pursed his lips and glanced at his friends in different tables before going to the Ravenclaw table. _Calm down, Van Kamp, they'll still be your friends. _

The night was a happy one for everyone in the hall. The first years felt incredibly loved as the people in their house welcomed them with very open arms. Derek was feeling a bit down that Reed was sorted into Ravenclaw but his friend smiled from across the hall. "We'll make it work." Reed seemed to say.

Brittany squealed happily beside Derek when the dessert part of the feast appeared in front of them. "Best. Feast. Ever!" She said as she took a huge scoop of ice cream that didn't seem to show any signs of melting. Derek followed her example.

* * *

><p>After their dinner, their bellies were full and they were tired. Derek was very happy that they were going off to their dormitories soon. They walked down the halls with the Slytherins right behind them. But soon, they were alone, all Hufflepuffs. The prefect, Jenkin Harris, went on and on about Hogwarts and how excited he was for them. He told them about the tour tomorrow, and that their schedules would be arriving soon.<p>

"And that's the kitchen; little known to the rest of the school, but if you tickle the pear right over there." He pointed. "It'll grant you entrance. The house elves would be happy to oblige." He smiled. "Now if you would follow me, I'm going to show you the way to Hufflepuff house. Remember this because we wouldn't want you to get lost."

"Oh no." Brittany whispered. "I'm really bad with directions. I get lost in my own house."

Derek looked at her strangely, wondering how one person could get lost in their own house. But he smiled nonetheless, "I'll stick with you, you won't get lost." Brittany smiled and hugged him quickly.

"Thanks so much!"

"No problem." Derek shrugged and they stopped in front of a stack of barrels. The first years looked over heads just to see what was with the lack of movement.

"First years, this is the entrance to our house. To get in you should tap the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff', and the lid will swing open." Jenkin smiled over his shoulder, "Like so." He proceeded to do so and the lid opened. "Remember this everyone, if the wrong lid is tapped, you will be doused with vinegar." Brittany groaned. Derek patted her shoulder, trying to comfort her "Follow me please." Jenkin said simply and he started crawling through a passageway. "Come on!" He shouted back enthusiastically from the passageway. The first years followed.

"You _have_ to teach me that." Brittany pleaded as she bent down beside the passageway.

"I will! I barely remember it now, I'm sure Jenkin will teach us." Derek smiled. "Go crawl!" Brittany offered a grateful smile to her friend and she crawled. Derek followed immediately.

They arrived to the cosiest looking common room they've ever laid eyes on. _Everything looks so round… And neat. I love it already._ Derek smiled as he looked around his surroundings. Some plants hung from the window sills (that showed some grass and dandelions outside) and the ceiling. Then he glanced over at the mantle where the silver House Cup stood proudly over the room. Jenkin was already at the end of his house rules and explanations. "Now, I know it doesn't have a beautiful view like Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, but hey, it beats being in the dungeons like the Slytherins." They chuckled. "The boys' dormitories are on your left and the girls' are on your right. The tour will start after breakfast tomorrow." Jenkin smiled wider, as if that was possible, and extended his arms. "Welcome to Hufflepuff house! Have a good night's rest."

Derek said goodbye to Brittany before moving towards the circular doors of the boys' dormitory. He was feeling a little bit apprehensive at first but he found the boys a calm and friendly bunch. He kept imagining rowdy ones and he wouldn't be able to fit in. He's always been different from the other boys. That's why Reed was only friend all those years. When he finally reached his assigned dorm room, he found a few boys unpacking their own items. "Oh hey!" One with blond hair waved. "Spell kid!"

Derek smiled faintly. "It's Derek."

"Alright, Derek. I'm Cody Miller, that's Terry and that's Justin." They others smiled and Derek silently noted that the three of them had blond hair. He was the only oddity in the room and he hardly thought it was fair. Derek nodded and walked over to the only unoccupied bed on the side of the room. A brown tabby appeared out of nowhere and jumped on Derek's lap. He started petting it. "Hi, Alec…"

The others left him alone. "Silent type, I reckon." Terry whispered to Justin. They glanced over and watched as Derek pulled out a bunch of muggle books and placed them on a book cabinet that seemed to come from the trunk itself. Afterwards he pulled out some wizard books from the trunk and began the same process.

"Well… Doesn't _that_ just confirm it?" Justin smirked.

"Do you think he got mis-sorted and he's supposed to be in Ravenclaw?" Cody side commented as he passed by and walked towards the bathroom.

"Book lover then?" Terry asked.

Derek nodded. "Yeah, my mum runs a bookstore up in Birmingham. It's lovely. It's got a café in it." _They seem nice. Live a little, Breaker._ He concluded. Terry walked over to his book cabinet and looked at the sides.

"I haven't been introduced to these muggle authors; care to talk about them sometime?" He asked.

"Sure, after tour tomorrow." Derek smiled.

"Excellent."

* * *

><p>"Hiya! I'm Brittany!" She bounced in the room.<p>

"Hi Brittany! I'm Ella!" The other girl in the room, also blonde, jumped up and hugged her. "Let's be friends."

"Yes! Let us!" They squealed. Brittany was very ecstatic at the moment, having met a new friend. She thought that being a muggle-born would kill her chances of finding real friends in Hogwarts. But she actually made a lot of friends, adding Ella to the list was making her feel elated. She missed the others though, Kurt, Rachel and Reed. She liked them the best and she felt very fond of them. _I wonder if we could spend time together tomorrow. Oh that would be so lovely. I miss them so much! _Her childlike attitude proved refreshing to the others, of course. While everyone was trying to grow up now that they started to school in Hogwarts, Brittany stayed herself.

The other bed in the room was still empty and Ella didn't know whose it was. They talked about their expectations for the succeeding lessons that year before the door opened to reveal a pretty red head. "Hi!" The two said excitedly and introduced themselves.

"Erin Delany." The new girl said. "I guess I'll be stuck with you the next seven years."

"Seven lovely years!" Brittany said and hugged Erin.

Erin laughed. "Well, aren't you just a little ball of sunshine."

"Silly, I'm a girl."

Ella and Erin shared a look and Ella shrugged. "Of course you are."

"What pet did you bring?" Brittany asked. "I got a cat! He's around here somewhere… I'm sure the nice people here brought Lord Tubbington into the common room."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe it, it's not even the end of the week and someone's already injured." Madam Pomfrey griped as she mended the cut on Reed's cheek he got from a knife. He was surprised by the Grey Lady and he somehow managed to cut himself twice. "Be careful next time, Mr. Van Kamp. We wouldn't want you to come here every week." <em>Trust me, Madam Pomfrey, I would love to but my luck won't have any of it.<em> He sighed. "You may go." He murmured a quiet thanks before walking up to his prefect, Trisha Epperson.

"All better?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Let's go, the others would be waiting." She offered Reed a friendly smile before they walked up to Ravenclaw tower. When they arrived, all the other first years were already inside, making Trisha sigh. "This is how you enter Ravenclaw house, Reed." She knocked on the eagle knocker and it spoke.

"Why does a corporal Patronus take a specific form for each caster of a Patronus?" It asked.

Reed looked taken aback by the knocker _and_ the question. It sent his mind reeling. Trisha turned around with a small smile on her face. "Unlike the other houses, we have to answer a logical riddle instead of giving it a password."

"What if we don't get it right?"

"We'll have to wait for another Ravenclaw to answer it right, that way, we would learn."

"But aren't all the Ravenclaws inside?" Reed gulped.

"Ah, yes… Well, we'll go to professor Flitwick then if we can't answer." She paused and looked at the knocker. "What do you think, Reed? Why does a Patronus take a specific form for each caster?" She glanced at Reed again. "You know what a Patronus is, right?"

Reed nodded. "Yeah, my mum used it before. She told me about it when I asked."

"She used it? What for?"

"Lethifolds."

"Oh." They stood there for a few seconds before Reed tugged on Trisha's robe. "Yes?"

"Do you mind if I answer?"

"By all means." She smiled, hoping that Reed got it right. It would be a great start for him. Reed walked up to the knocker and knocked again, earning the same question. He glanced nervously at Trisha over his shoulder. "Don't be nervous." Reed nodded and looked up at the door.

"Happiness takes a different form for everyone." He said meekly.

"Logically said." The knocker took the answer and allowed them to enter the Ravenclaw house.

"Good job!" Trish said, patting Reed on the back. Reed just beamed with pride and thought that the night would get better. While thinking that, he knocked a painting down.

* * *

><p>Gwen Blackcove was orienting the first years about the house rules. "Don't cause damage to school property outside of your dorm room, and if you can't help it, not outside this common room. Don't cause trouble that would most likely get you expelled without having a spectacularly good excuse or a strong alibi. No fighting in the corridors. Don't discriminate against the other houses, most <em>especially<em> the Hufflepuffs." She glared at a boy she overheard laughing about how Hufflepuffs are better off muggles earlier. "Finally, if any of you get in trouble or _think_ you're going to get into trouble, don't hesitate to tell me or Friedrich."

The other prefect snorted. "Merlin, Gwen! Call me Rick, mates."

"We'll try our best to fix it." She scowled at the interruption. "The boys' dorms are on your left, the girls' on the right. Any questions?" A few hands rose. "Yes?" She pointed at a little boy in the back.

"Hi, I'm Shane… I was wondering if it's true that you were at the battle of Hogwarts. Is it true?"

Gwen shook her head. "No. It was before my first year." But the terror of it was enough to last her a lifetime. "Anything else?" The hands dwindled aside from two. "Yes?"

"Are we allowed to share a bed?" Ethan asked apprehensively.

Gwen found the question a bit different from what she was prepared for – she was expecting "could we bring explosives?" She answered nonetheless. "Yes, if you can manage it."

"Awesome!" The twins high fived each other and settled down almost immediately.

"If there are no more questions, you may go to your rooms and welcome once again to Gryffindor." The crowd of first years cheered and some even hugged Gwen before retreating to their rooms. Kurt stood at the back, getting a bit frightened with the thought of causing trouble. He wanted to ask if he could be contained in a quieter environment. Nonetheless he sucked in a breath and braved to his dorm room. The same dorm room the twins entered. There was a loud thud in the room and Kurt almost ran away. _You're a Gryffindor now Hummel, prove yourself worthy._ He entered. One of the beds was pushed a few inches from the wall and two blond heads were walking around it, like it was a puzzle they needed to solve.

"You reckon we could move this without magic?"

"There's always that spell that Audrey used…"

"Why can't we remember it?"

They simultaneously turned their heads to the door. "Oh hello, Kurt!"

"Do you know any good levitation spells?"

He shook his head. "We just got here, remember?"

"Yes, _vividly_." They smirked and turned back to the bed. Kurt bristled the slightest bit. "We should check the book." Kurt trudged across the room, noticing the lack of other students. He honestly hoped that he didn't have to be stuck with these two. He'll surely go mad. _Calm yourself. There are two other trunks._ And just as he thought so, the door swung open.

"Hi there!" One with curly hair said. "Are you trying to move the bed? That'd be hard without magic, I reckon they weigh lots."

"We'll think of something." The twins said, not looking up from the _Standard Book of Spells 1_ they had on their laps. "I'm Ethan."

"I'm Evan."

The two looked at the boy at the back, who was looking positively relieved. "I'm Kurt."

"Shane." The curly top said, waving excitedly. _Yay, new friends!_

"Julian." The other boy said and grinned at them with a grin that resembled the twins'.

* * *

><p>Rachel entered the common room with the rest of the first years and found it very elegant in the green sort of way. She found the eerie green glow both comforting and strange. <em>Is it going to be like this for the whole time? <em>She thought back to all the clothes she brought for her weekends and thought about how she would look very out of place in the gloomy but sophisticated Slytherin house. "Alright kiddies," said Luxor Bellmore, the prefect. "The boys' dormitories are on the left, girls' on the right. Play nice with all the other houses because when we crush them for the house cup, there wouldn't be another battle." He smirked playfully. The first years chuckled. Most of them already had the feel of the house, they belonged and they knew it. Rachel smiled faintly, hoping she'll get some friends. The earlier moment with Santana had her apprehensive for friends but Jesse was there, so just in case she didn't get friends among her peers, she'll have Jesse. "Go on, get!" The students scattered and so did the conversations.

Rachel glanced quickly at the common room, its expensive looking couches, the fire place that looked like it was colder than most, the lack of windows, and the beautiful chandelier before she walked towards her assigned dorm room. She opened the door and found that there were already girls there putting their own feel to their side of the room. "Hello!" She said cheerily.

Lauren looked up and then down. "I'm Lauren. Stay out of my face and you don't get hurt." Rachel raised her hands and backed away slowly. She was happy to find out that her bed is far from Lauren. Another girl shook her head and sat beside Rachel.

"I'm Mercedes, don't worry, I don't bite."

Rachel shook her head. "I'm Rachel Berry. Pleased to meet your acquaintance." She looked up at the other girl. "And you?"

"Stella Rosen." The girl said with a smile. Aside from Lauren, Rachel thought they were lovely roommates.

* * *

><p>The next day during breakfast, the five friends met at the entrance. They finished eating early to get to each other. Reed was last to arrive, he stumbled towards them. "I need you at Ravenclaw house!" He said to Derek. "I kept falling over and knocking things down!"<p>

Derek chuckled. "I'm sure they'll get used to you in no time. They'll be sure not to give you any sharp objects and all that."

"Can I convince you to switch houses if I tell you that there is a nook in the common room with books in large book shelves?" Reed asked hopefully.

Derek nearly dropped the book he was holding. "… I think I've been sorted in the wrong house." He whispered almost to himself.

"It's unfair." Kurt said. "You've got Brittany."

"Well, Reed and I are alone in our houses as well!" Rachel said indignantly.

"Hey." Reed said coolly. "It's time to make other friends. Don't tell me you haven't made any during the night!"

"I did, sort of." Kurt muttered.

"Do tell." Derek chuckled.

"The twins from last night," Kurt shook his head and he laughed a little bit from the memory of them moving the other's bed, "they're incredibly bouncy and friendly. I don't think they slept." He turned to Rachel. "What about you, Rach?"

"Well, I talked to some of them last night… But no, not really _friend_ friends." She said.

Brittany hugged Reed tightly and placed her head on top of his curls. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Brit." Reed chuckled.

"Let's compare schedules!" Rachel announced. "It'll be absolutely excellent if we have at _least_ two classes together." They pulled out their schedules and gleefully compared.

Gryffindors and Slytherins had Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts together. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had Po tions together.

"Might as well," Derek laughed, "someone needs to protect everyone from Reed burning the room down." Reed punched him on the arm. "It's true and you know it."

The Ravenclaws had Charms class, Flying lessons and Herbology classes with the Slytherins, while the Hufflepuffs had it with the Gryffindors. Reed and Kurt complained about their hair getting messed up when they're in the air then smiled at each other, it was comforting that someone shared their anxieties.

The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had Astronomy together, to which Brittany cheered. "Yay, Astronomy time is Reed time!"

Finally, they Gryffindors had History with the Hufflepuffs.

"I heard that the class being taught by a ghost!" Kurt said. "How exciting is that? An actual History teacher who was actually there!" He didn't know how wrong he was going to be.

Soon enough, the tours began and they were separated again. The five agreed to meet again after lunch and they found this meet ups fun. After the lunch one, they'd decide to do that after every meal time.

A few students watched the group with keen interest, especially those in the higher years. Usually when first years meet on the train and get separated, they stay separated but still friends. But these five didn't seem to want to be separated. And they didn't. Most would think that their group would fade just like anyone else's after the next month but everything stayed as strong as it could.

They made other friends, of course. Kurt had some Gryffindors he would joke with, a girl named Merril, his roomates Shane, Julian, and the twins, Evan and Ethan. Rachel made quick friend with a few Slytherins like Jesse, Mercedes, and Stella. Lauren was contented with other friends that didn't include her roommates. In addition to Cody, Justin, and Terry, Derek made friends with Sam from the room across the hall. Brittany made a friend with both of her roommates, as well as a Hufflepuff named Katherine. Reed made friends with his roommates, namely, Todd, Danny, and Joshua. But those friends would just be for a while; the five would always meet during tea and during their Friday afternoons off. The five of them quickly became the best of friends. All through their classes, they stuck together, and it would always be a bittersweet farewell when they go back to their houses after dinner.

The classes were challenging. Rachel and Reed were getting the best grades, the most points to their houses, and they thrived in every subject (though Reed kept on knocking the ingredients over and setting fire to his cauldron in Potions) except the gruellingly boring classes of Professor Binns.

"Exciting, I said. Taught by a ghost, I said!" Kurt rambled incredulously after the first lesson. "I hate history."

The other three, Brittany, Derek, and Kurt had their own specialties, not wanting to be shown up by the two (friendly competition among them was healthy, they'd decided, if they wanted to be the best, they'd have to best each other). Derek was the best at practical Transfiguration and sometimes surpassed Rachel and Reed's level. Kurt was the best at potions. And surprisingly, Brittany was the top in their Charms class.

Her reason: "It's just because I'm naturally charming, for a muggle-born." The four laughed at that and Derek hugged Brittany affectionately. "What? It's true! You're all just jealous."

* * *

><p>Days passed in the term and the five were inseparable. Days passed and Reed's accidents numbered higher and everyone who knew that curly strawberry blond head of his would know that they would have to keep an eye on him. Derek's book count grew and his mother started sending him new books every week. Brittany's tutor sessions with her best friends escalated as the workload increased. Rachel made more people annoyed with her insufferable singing in the common rooms, though they couldn't deny that she had a voice on her. Kurt was increasingly getting confused, though, when he started admiring a certain Hufflepuff boy. He didn't, however, make it known to his friends. He didn't know how they would react. He didn't <em>want <em>to know how they would react, so he tried to swallow it down for the mean time.

Many things are about to happen to the five friends soon. And right before the October ended, they added a new member. A Ravenclaw named Sofia Salvadair.

They'd met in the library after their little visit to the hospital wing. Reed had a particularly disastrous Potions session where he accidentally knocked over some of his materials on Derek. He grew extra eyes, it freaked him out thoroughly.

"I am not sitting beside you ever again." Derek whispered as they entered the library for their collective homework. Kurt and Rachel lead while the other three hung back. Derek touched his face tentatively. "I could still feel them."

Reed chuckled and bumped his hip at Derek. "Too bad for you, mate, you signed a lifelong contract to suffer with me and my clumsiness when you first said, 'hi, let's be friends'."

"You remember that?" Derek snorted.

"Yes."

Brittany pulled the two to the left since she was the only one who noticed Rachel and Kurt's change in direction towards the Potions section.

"I can't believe they don't accept first years into the school choir. I have an exceptional voice!" Rachel whispered to them as they walked around the potions section, looking for books on their homework. Kurt shot her a look. "Well, you do too, but you're not complaining so…"

"Rachel." Kurt sighed, trying to stay patient with his friend. "We _did_ get accepted."

"But we're not allowed to go to competitions. We're not given the solos…" She muttered.

"It's bad, I get it. We get it. We're not allowed because we're not supposed to have extra-curricular activities until third year." Derek answered and looked at the spines along the stacks.

"It'll be a short two years and we'll be getting the solos before you know it." Kurt whispered.

"Yeah, Rach, Kurt's right, you should just – woah!" Reed tripped on his laces again and tumbled towards a girl who was levitating a big stack of school books towards a table. She squeaked at the sudden appearance of the boy and they started to topple over.

"_Immobulus!_" Brittany had her wand out before the others. Being with Reed had them learning the spells left and right just so they could keep their friend from getting hurt. Derek was an efficient teacher when it came to that.

They pulled the books away and they pulled Reed and the girl from their compromising positions before Brittany undid the spell.

Reed was apologizing profusely and the girl tried to regain her composure.

"Hi, I'm Derek. Forgive my friend, he's deathly clumsy."

The girl looked up. "Sofie… And it's okay… Oh, hi Reed."

"Hi, Sofie." He said. "I'm sorry about the books."

"It's okay." She smiled faintly. They stood there for a second before Reed introduced them formally.

"So you're going to be fine?" Derek asked.

She nodded. "Yeah."

They turned around and she stood up. Before she could levitate the books again she looked at the group and felt like she needed to help them. "Derek, you've been in the library hours at a time, do you know where it is?" Kurt asked.

"I've been spending more time at the Charms section." Derek said. "I don't know where that book you're talking about is. Why don't you ask the librarian?"

"Madam Monique is wonderful and all but you know we can barely understand her accent." Kurt retorted.

"I can help." Sofie spoke up. "I know this place like the back of my hand."

Kurt smiled appreciatively and walked towards her, telling her about the book he was looking for. They found it in a matter of seconds and the six did their homework together. They stayed six.

* * *

><p>That weekend, they got to know each other. They walked around the cold school grounds near the lake. A handful of students were on the beach, some were older students who have been to Hogsmeade for too many times and decided to have a change of scenery. Some students took time to go swimming in the lake. Laughter filled the beach. Derek, Kurt, Rachel, Brittany, Reed, and Sofie walked along the shore with their shoes in their hands, the water lapping a little bit against their feet.<p>

"You five be _quiet_! They're _right there_!" Sofie hissed, immediately regretting the fact that she told them she was a little (very) boy crazy and she's got a bit of a crush on two second year Ravenclaws (Logan and Derek) and one first year Gryffindor friend (Julian)… As well as a few boys she did not know from higher up. She was regretting it a little bit because the five of them were giggling like mad as Julian, Logan and Derek passed by. But of course she had to tell them about her boy crazy tendencies. It was something all her friends should know about. "What are you, _eight_?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Kurt said. "We're calm. _Caaaaaaaaaaaalm._" They sucked in a collective breath before giggling anew. "Merlin, Julian's my _roommate_!"

"Shh!" But Sofie couldn't help but smile as well. She was beginning to really get attached to the five friends. "You all suck."

"Sorry!" Brittany said, trying to calm herself down.

Rachel looked up, still giggling. "It's being uncharacteristically sunny today."

"Why question it?" Sofie sighed, spreading her arms open. It was the perfect opportunity to change subject. "It's been so cold lately."

"Duh, it's October." Derek earned a smack on the back of his head from Sofie. "Hey! It's true!"

"Favourite food?" Reed asked, taking the hint of subject change. They had a sort of game of favourites, just so they could pass the time when they can't think of anything else to talk about. Weekends were hardly ever boring for them. "Mine's pasta."

"Oh, my gosh, mine too!" Rachel nudged Reed playfully, causing him to stumble a little bit.

"Potatoes!" Sofie said. "Anything that potates!"

"Chicken." Derek followed.

"Red velvet." Kurt grinned.

"Why would you eat fabric?" Brittany asked.

"It's a cake."

"Well, you should've put cake at the end so no one would get confused." She said reproachfully.

Kurt's eyebrows rose. "You're serious?"

"Of course I am." She said, looking confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Never mind." Kurt smiled at her. "Favourite class?"

* * *

><p>They found themselves a nice place to sit, a rock formation flat enough for them to sit on without fear of slipping into the cold water. Naturally, they took turns trying to push each other down into the water. Reed tried to push Derek down but he somehow managed to push himself down. He would've fallen too if it wasn't for Sofie holding onto his shirt.<p>

Then it happened.

A scream pierced the calm air and they all looked up to find a tentacle out of the water. Students were quickly packing up their things while the others were swimming back to shore. Some weren't as lucky, they got stuck in the tentacles flying out of the water.

"I thought the squid was supposed to be friendly!" Rachel cried.

"Guys, a little help here!" Sofie said, gesturing to Reed with her head. Before they could grab hold of their friend, another tentacle shot out and took the two. Rachel, Kurt, Brittany and Derek jumped back to the rock wall.

"Someone call McGonagall!" Reed shouted.

"This sucker is disgusting! _Get me out!_"

Just then another tentacle shot out of the water and came hurtling towards them. They fell flat on the rocky surface and they felt the slimy appendage graze across their backs before it flew across the beach. Brittany stood up first and the others followed.

All of the tentacles were out of the water when they reached the beach. It was starting to fight against the students, slamming against them and throwing them against the rocks. A few students were up in the air with Reed and Sofie, trying their best to break free. The older students started taking out their wands, trying to help those stuck in the squid's sticky grasp but nothing they do could stun the squid.

"Duck!" Kurt shouted as another tentacle came towards them.

"Where?" Brittany gazed upward.

"_Incendio!_" Derek pointed his wand just before it could hit Brittany and it recoiled. Rachel pulled Brittany away. There was a weird rumbling noise that came from the water and the squid started to attack with more gusto.

"I _knew_ we should've stayed in the castle!" Kurt said. "_Incendio!_"

"Well," Rachel ducked before getting hit, "you have to admit this is kind of fun."

"Yes, the possibility of getting seriously injured is fun." Kurt sneered. "Brittany!" She ducked just in time but the tentacle hit Kurt square on the chest and was thrown away.

"Kurt!" Derek shouted and turned around to run to his fallen friend. Before he could even get there, he was blindsided with a blow from the left and promptly blacked out. Derek fell against a rock, leaving Brittany and Rachel fending for themselves.

"He just had to run to Kurt, didn't he?" Rachel rolled her eyes. "_Incendio!_"

Brittany covered her eyes for a moment when the fire hit the tentacle. "I don't know, I thought it was kinda cute." The two of them could barely hold it back before the headmistress arrived.

"Everyone calm down! Filius, assist me. Pamona, the children!" She said and raised her wand. Professor Flitwick followed suit and they both said an incantation that started to wrap the squid in a clear bubble. Professor Sprout set fire to the tentacles holding the students, causing the squid's hold to slacken.

Reed looked over his shoulder and saw the large fires starting on the other tentacles. "Sofie! We're going to be saved."

"_Finally_." She looked up (she was upside down). "It's a long way down though…"

"Oh, bugger." Reed sneered. A blast of warm air enveloped them and Reed shied his eyes away from the brightness. They slipped from the tentacle and felt the wind whoosh through them. They braced themselves for impact, knowing that it was going to hurt. But Professor Sprout cushioned the fall right before they slammed into the water.

Reed pushed his hair away when he surfaced. The water rumbled with another underwater roar from the squid as they encased it in a transparent bubble. "I wonder what's got its knickers in a twist."

"They'll probably tell us by dinner." Sofie shrugged. "Race you to the shore!"

The students started swimming to the shore and the others were helping the injured back to Hogwarts. "Filius, would you please call Hagrid?" Professor McGonagall said after the spell was finished.

"Certainly."

"Is everyone alright? Accounted for?" Scattered answers sounded from the beach as more and more students started to walk from the water.

"Reed, Sofie!" Rachel ran towards them and hurriedly conjured some warm air. "Are you two okay? Nothing broken or anything?"

Sofie pulled out her wand and then smiled at her. "It survived!" She caused some warm air to come out of her wand as well. "And I won."

"Only because you had a head start." Reed shook his hair, spraying water around. "Where's Derek and Kurt?"

"Unconscious." Brittany answered.

"What? Where?" Reed's eyes bulged.

"Right here." They turned around to find the twins carrying Derek. Evan was holding him up by the armpits while Ethan had him by the knees. Kurt was carried by the Anderson brothers in the same manner. "We're bringing them to the hospital wing."

"You're allowed to come along of course."

"We reckon you'd want to be there when your friends gain consciousness."

* * *

><p>The hospital wing was full of unconscious students, but nothing life threatening befell them. All around, friends were sitting around the injured, as if they were going to die at any moment. Madam Pomfrey found it overdramatic; nonetheless, she continued her duties, mending cuts, bruises and concussions. Right before dinner, she started shooing the students away, especially the ones loitering in the wing.<p>

Kurt woke up with a dull ache on his chest and he slowly opened his eyes. Brittany was looking down at him, smiling as usual. "How are you?"

"Kind of sore, but I'll live." He sat up slowly and swooping his hand through his bangs, placing them back in their proper position.

Derek pulled the bookmark from behind his ear, put it on the page and set the book aside. "Finally, he's up. I was beginning to think we'd have to miss dinner." He grinned from the bed across Kurt's.

"Someone hit him for me." Reed complied immediately. Derek laughed. "Thanks."

"Alright, you lot. It's time for dinner, get up." Madam Pomfrey said and stood, hands on her hips, waiting for them to move from the beds. They jumped up immediately, waiting for Kurt to put on his shoes before hastily walking away from the hospital wing.

"Ever wonder why the squid attacked?" Rachel asked.

"No, I was too busy not thinking about its suckers." Sofie shuddered, for her, that was one of the most unpleasant experiences in her life and she will be forever traumatized by the lake.

"I reckon Professor McGonagall would tell us after dinner." Kurt shrugged said.

* * *

><p>"Now, you all may be wondering why the squid in the lake attacked today." Professor McGonagall announced after dessert. "I assure you that this is not a usual occurrence and the squid is perfectly harmless. We've managed to figure out the cause of the sudden outburst. It is because someone urinated in the lake." There was a collective tone of disgust in most of the tables, though there were some snickers from the younger years.<p>

Derek nudged Brittany, who was shaking with laughter. She turned to him. "She said 'urinated'."

The Hall was drowned by conversations and speculations about who it could've been. "Silence." Professor McGonagall said. "This is not a laughing matter. The squid is very particular about the cleanliness of the lake and was very displeased when someone reckless dared to pollute it. We're very lucky it didn't drown any of you." She sneered a little bit. "I will be frank, who did it?" Students looked around for anyone looking suspicious. Some even jokingly accused a friend. It took a moment before someone raised their hand nervously.

The Hufflepuff table groaned.

"Mr. Hudson?" The headmistress's eyebrows rose.

"I – I did it, professor…" He was looking positively red. His friends tried to look as invisible as they could while the Hall burst in laughter. Kurt was just as red, everyone knew their relationship as stepbrothers. He felt like he was going to die in second-hand embarrassment. He covered his face. _This is not happening. This is not happening. You're still in the hospital wing having a nightmare. _At that moment, he hated Finn for being his stepbrother.

* * *

><p>At the end of the night, Finn ended up losing Hufflepuff eighty points and two weeks detention cleaning the lavatories. The Hufflepuffs didn't take it so badly. It was just points, they wouldn't die. They just learned not to let Finn near the water any time soon. Kurt was fuming, of course. It took the five of them to calm him down as they walked back to their houses.<p>

"I want to kill him. That was _so_ embarrassing!" He said. His arms were so tightly pressed against his chest that he looked like he was trying to constrict himself. And maybe he was.

"Well, it isn't really a walk in the park for him, either." Derek sighed. "You're lucky he didn't do anything more embarrassing."

"Like what?" Kurt rolled his eyes. "Poop in the lake?" There was a moment of silence before they started to laugh. "It's not that funny." Kurt tried to keep a straight face but with his friends laughing, it was hard to keep it up.

"It's really not that funny." Reed said, chuckling. "But, bloody hell, that would be _scandalous_."

"I bet the mermaids would attack us, not just the squid." Sofie said, still laughing about the mere thought. "Don't be so hard on your brother."

Kurt sighed in exasperation. "You're right… It wasn't me. It was him."

"Hello, Kurt." Evan and Ethan walked by. "Will you _pee-lease _tell your brother to keep out of the water next time?" They snickered and walked away. Kurt was looking red again, gripping his wand so hard it could break.

"Let it go, Kurt. They're just being immature." Rachel said soothingly.

Brittany giggled. "They said 'pee-lease'."

Kurt glared at Brittany and Derek grabbed his right arm. "Just breathe. Loosen your grip on your wand… Loosen…"

"Kurt!" Loud foot falls echoed the hall they were walking in.

"Bloody – Hey, Finn." He smiled faintly.

"Look, mate, I'm really sorry for putting you through that." Finn said, running his fingers through his hair. "But it was just so wet and I really, _really_ wanted to go and –"

Kurt raised his hand. "I get it, Finn…" He sighed for what seemed like the twentieth try to calm himself down. "It's fine."

"Alright… Awesome." He said. "Mind if I walk with you guys? Derek and Brittany are going to Hufflepuff anyway."

"I guess so." Kurt said. "But can we talk of something else?"

"Would it be possible for you to poop in the lake? Like if you really wanted to go but you were too far from the shore, would it?" Derek asked, sounding genuinely curious. Kurt groaned and Derek laughed. "I'm joking… But no, seriously."

"Someone hit him for me." Kurt said. Sofie did it this time.

"Gah! Sorry." He muttered and pulled out the book he was reading earlier and read while they walked. It was a wonder how he could do that without causing accidents. It was awkwardly quiet as they walked down the halls. Finn was surprised by their silence. The six were usually found laughing or having fun of some sort. Then again, it was only the six of them. And he _did_ pee in the lake, causing embarrassment to his stepbrother causing him to fume (Finn wasn't _that_ dense). They allowed themselves to fall into little activities to make the invading silence seem bearable. Reed was fiddling quietly with his fingers as they walked, not wanting to look Finn in the eye. Brittany was looking over Derek's shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of what he was reading. Kurt was scowling at the floor and wished that the stairs leading to Gryffindor tower would just appear. Sofie was silently humming to herself, thinking of things that would distract her from the current predicament. _I wonder what the knocker will ask us when we get there._

"So… Finn. How is second year?" Rachel supplied, breaking the silence. Derek was forever grateful for bringing a book with him. He wasn't suffering like the others were.

"It's okay. I mean it's not that different from first year. Just new books, new topics." Finn shrugged.

"Oh…" Rachel nodded. The conversation ended there and Kurt cursed his brother for being there. The silence was unbearable. All six of them were thinking of something to say but none of them were able to bring it up.

"How are you guys adjusting to Hogwarts?" Finn asked awkwardly, knowing he should just stay back or go ahead. His body seemed to be unable to follow the commands from his head. _You just had to pee in the lake, didn't you?_

"Okay, I guess." Sofie answered. "Oh look stairs, let's go. Bye guys, see you tomorrow." Reed and Kurt looked up and waved to the others. They hurried up the steps until they couldn't see them anymore. "Well, that was sufficiently awkward."

"I _know_." Reed groaned.

"Why did Dad have to fall in love with his mum? Just _why_?" Kurt stomped up the steps.

"It kinda makes me feel bad for leaving the three of them with him." Sofie sighed then she shrugged. "Oh well."

"Hey, Sof, do you have answers to that Herbology homework?" Reed asked, hoping to draw the conversation somewhere else.

"Yes, it's right on my bed when I left it today. Do you want to have a look?"

"Definitely."

"Can I borrow them tomorrow?" Kurt asked, his mood lifting slightly. "I'm rubbish at Herbology."

"I'd be insulted if you didn't ask!" Sofie laughed, ruffling Kurt's hair. She was the only one who got away with it without getting thrown off the stairs.

"My parents sent your parents some love." Someone let out an annoyed sigh before the three friends reached the top of the stairs.

"Don't you mean your parents to my mum? I don't think my dad likes love." Another person joked.

"Hey Hummel, how's your brother?" Derek – the Seigerson one – smirked. Kurt's face turned red and he clutched his wand once again. Sofie stiffened between her two friends for she was in the presence of three most gorgeous wizards she has ever seen. She squeaked a little bit and tried to relax.

"Leave him alone, D." Julian punched Derek's arm.

"Ow! I was only joking!"

"_Obviously._" Julian rolled his eyes. "C'mon Kurt, I'll see you two idiots some time."

"You can't call us that! We're one year above you!" The tall blond protested jokingly. He then turned to his fellow Ravenclaws and gave them a quick wave. Reed and Sofie waved back.

"You're only older by ten months, Lo." Julian grinned over his shoulder. "There's not much of a difference… And you can't tell me what to do." He turned towards the corridor leading to the Fat Lady. Logan and Derek chuckled before they turned around and headed to Ravenclaw tower.

Kurt turned to Sofie and Reed. He raised one eyebrow and glanced at the two seconds years retreating to their house. Sofie scowled a little bit and punched Kurt's arm. "_Not a word._"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Fine. Till tomorrow." The two waved and followed the other two Ravenclaws. It was Reed's turn to slightly tease his new friend.

"Not hyperventilating, are we?" He said, nudging her side.

"Shut up!" She said, slapping him on the back of his head.

"No make me!"

"So, Sofie, you're joining Reed's lot now?" Logan asked making the two of them really shut up. "Didn't know they were taking in new recruits."

"Yeah, we met up in the library, pretty fun stuff." She said casually. Her cheeks burned, wanting to expose her for fancying Logan (and the other Derek who wasn't her friend) but luckily it was a dark corridor. Reed wanted to die of laughter.

"Yeah, I fell into her." He supplied just barely hiding a guffaw. "We were looking for a potions book and – oof." And he walked into Ravenclaw's door.

"Kinda like that?" Derek chuckled as Reed tried to shake some of the pain away. Sofie was feeling like a little justice was served.

"Yeah, kind of. Only with more books." He rubbed his temple before knocking the knocker.

* * *

><p>"You two aren't mad at me for losing Hufflepuff points, right?" Finn asked.<p>

"No, not at all. Honest mistake right?" Derek was happy that the awkwardness was lifted up. After all, it was a long walk to the basements. Rachel left for the dungeons as soon as the chance appeared and that's when the conversation started to get better.

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks." Finn said. "It's just I want Hufflepuff to win the house cup again so badly, you know? Last year we won! Jenkin said it was the first time in a decade since our house won. Eighty points is a lot."

"Don't get so down on yourself. Winning isn't everything. Hufflepuff house is the best house and we all know it." Brittany said brightly, whirling her fist in the air as they turned to the last corridor. "It's just a stupid cup."

"I don't know." Derek sighed. "I heard some Gryffindors talking about Hufflepuff the other day and it wasn't pretty." The memory resurfaced vividly. Strange how these random memories come up.

"What did they say?" Finn's face scrunched in disbelief. _That's still happening?_

"I didn't want to listen in much but there was something about 'better off being muggles' and we 'suck'." It wasn't the most pleasant thing Derek wanted to hear in his first year. He always thought everyone was a big family at Hogwarts; he was surprised that some discrimination was happening. It also made him doubt his own capability as a wizard. Brittany frowned, having her optimism shot down.

"Derek, Brit," Finn bit his lip, thinking very hard to make what he was going to say to make sense. "Some wizards here aren't as nice. But don't let what they're saying get you down okay? They… Uh…" His eyes shot upward, hoping that the ceiling had the right words written for him. He didn't have such luck. He looked back down at Derek. "Prove them wrong."

Derek smiled at the older boy's attempt to make him feel better. _It's better than nothing._

They stopped in front of the barrels. "Brittany? Did you practice this time?" Derek glanced at his friend.

"Oh yes, um… I know this… I know this." She knocked on her head twice and crossed her arms, deep in thought.

"Maybe I should –"

"No, Finn. Let her remember it."

She stared at the wall in concentration. A minute passed by before Brittany stepped forward one more time and stared at the lids. She lifted her hands and Derek smiled expectantly. She turned to Derek for assistance and he prodded her with a smile.

"You can remember it; it's been a few months!"

She tapped the lids in perfect order and she didn't get doused by vinegar like the last time she attempted the entrance. The lid swung open and she jumped and clapped with happiness.

"I'm so proud of you!" Derek hugged Brittany tightly before crawling through the passageway. Finn said goodnight when they were in the common room again.

Brittany hugged Derek again unexpectedly and whispered. "Hufflepuff is still awesome; don't let them get you down." They pulled away and Brittany did a little pat on Derek's head before prancing to the girls' dormitory. She waved again before she went through the door and he waved back. He turned towards the boys' dormitory.

Brittany sighed sadly as she entered her room. Realizing that Hogwarts wasn't the friendliest place on Earth as she originally thought really put a downer on things. But she did look at the bright side of things. If it didn't get out of hand, she shouldn't really bother herself with it.

* * *

><p>During the holidays, Reed, Derek, Kurt and Sofie stayed behind. Hilde went to a clothing seminar at Paris while Sofie's parents went to Egypt to visit some old friends; she decided to stay when they mentioned "old friends". She didn't want to endure hours of listening to her parents and their friends drone on and on about their lives (neither of her brothers wanted to go as well). Derek's parents were busy during the holidays and it would just be depressing when their only time away from work would consist of two days. He didn't mind though, Hogwarts was home to him already. Kurt felt the same way when his father wrote to him and Finn. They were told that he and Carole would be having a second honeymoon and they didn't have to be told twice. Rachel and Brittany went home for the holidays. It was an easy goodbye for most of them.<p>

"We promise to write every day and we'll send you gifts on Christmas and I really wish you could come with me!" Brittany was tearing up just a little bit as the carriages started to arrive.

"Brit, we'll still be here when you get back." Kurt said soothingly as he held her hands. He found her childishness rather adorable. "Don't cry, okay?"

"And you don't have to write us _every day_." Sofie grinned. "Owls need their rest too."

"Oh, I have to look for one so I can send you letters!" Brittany's eyes bulged and she started to look a little bit distressed. She had just realized that she didn't have an owl. _What about when summer comes?_ Sofie groaned. She was hoping to comfort Brittany by changing the subject; unfortunately the desired effect came in a little short.

Rachel reached over to grab Brittany's hand in hers. "Brit, come on, our carriage is here" She leaned into Kurt as she pulled her friend away. "I'll talk to her, don't worry." She smiled widely at the four afterwards. "We'll send you gifts! Have fun without us! Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas." Brittany seconded, smiling a little bit before leaving with Rachel. "Derek, don't forget to stop reading and have fun!" Derek chuckled and bookmarked his page to wave his two friends away.

The Hogwarts students that were left watched as the last of the carriages trotted away in the snow. There were only a few of them this year, just a handful of each house. The four stayed put as the rest walked back to their common rooms or to the different places in the grounds.

"…Now what?" Reed asked.

"I can get you into the kitchens." Derek suggested.

"Excellent." Sofie clapped her hands and draped her arms around Kurt and Derek's shoulders. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>The holiday was good to them. It didn't come as a surprise; they were in Hogwarts after all. As first years, there was a lot to explore. They'd walk everywhere in every corridor. They got lost twice during the first two days. Finn went with them once; the awkwardness restrained, and toured them to some places in Hogwarts. He even brought them to the Room of Requirement once.<p>

"Oh. My. Granger." Sofie said, wide-eyed and shocked at the racks upon racks of clothing that Kurt requested (Finn insisted that Kurt tried it out first). The door closed behind them. Kurt and Reed felt like they died and went to heaven. Derek hasn't seen so many clothes since Reed's closet.

"Brilliant, huh?" Finn grinned. "I found it one time during Easter break."

"We won't get locked in, right?" Kurt asked, touching one of the coats.

"Nope."

"It's not stealing if the room gave it to us." Kurt whispered again and pulled the coat from the rack. "This is lovely." Kurt smiled at Reed. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"With this much clothes? Dress up."

"That actually sounds like fun." Derek smiled widely and set his book down. Sofie laughed and ran to one of the many rows of racks. She took every piece of clothing she could and put them on. If she could put on enough, she could actually camouflage herself from them.

"Try and find me, boys!"

Derek grabbed a hat from one of the mannequins and followed her. "Challenge accepted, Salvadair!"

"Oh drat! A Hufflepuff!" She laughed. Reed and Kurt marvelled at the clothes for a few more seconds before putting a couple of coats on and went after Derek and Sofie. "First one to find me will have exclusive share of the chocolates my mum promised to send over Christmas!"

"Can I join in?" Finn asked. "I really like chocolate."

"Oh no! _Another _Hufflepuff!" Sofie laughed.

"Finn Hudson, that chocolate is _mine_!" Kurt laughed from one side of the room. His stepbrother just laughed it off and followed them into the rows of clothes. The day passed quickly. It passed with Reed accidentally catching Sofie first by knocking down a rack of clothes. It passed quickly with all five of them trying out clothes until they were lying on a heap of discarded clothes.

"Too bad we can't change the room while we're inside." Derek commented as he idly played with Reed's hair. "I'm in the mood for a starry sky."

"Maybe next time, when you pick." Reed said. "A library under a night sky?"

"You know me so well, Van Kamp." Derek chuckled. "But you can't read in the dark. It's bad for the eyes."

"Ask for some lamps then."

"I wonder what Brittany will think up when we bring them here." Kurt said offhandedly. "Cat playground maybe?"

"Is that even possible in here?" Sofie asked through the hat on her face.

"Never underestimate magic." Finn smiled.

Before they knew it, they were late for dinner and they still had a lot of clothes to take back to their dormitories (Kurt had the most). They decided to come back though, and they thanked Finn for showing them the room.

"The least I could do for embarrassing you." He smiled down at his brother.

Kurt rolled his eyes and hit Finn on the arm playfully. "C'mon, let's just get these things to Gryffindor and then we'll run back to get them after dinner." He sauntered ahead of the group with bundles of clothes in his arms.

"You promised me chocolates." Reed bumped Sofie's hip. "Don't forget."

"Never will I ever."

The next couple of days preceding Christmas morn included daily trips to the Room of Requirement. They would spend the whole day there, just having fun with the theme they were stuck with. When Derek picked, there were stacks upon stacks of books that stood in the room and windows appeared on the walls. All around the place were plush chairs that Derek deemed perfect for reading and he wished he could take one with him.

"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful in all your life?" Derek said dreamily as he walked across the stacks and ran his fingers along the spines. Then he squealed the highest squeal his friends ever heard. "I've been looking everywhere for this book!" He held up an original copy of _Alice in Wonderland. _"And it's been _signed_."

"Should we be worried?" Kurt asked Reed.

"Let him have his fun." Reed smiled fondly at his best friend who was plopping down on one of the chairs and easily got comfortable.

"What are you three just standing around for? We're in the happiest place on earth!" He shouted enthusiastically. Sofie, Kurt and Reed shrugged at each other before exploring themselves.

After spending the whole day looking through books and reading some of them, Derek ended up taking twelve books from the place. The other three had fun as well, watching their friend flail and give them book recommendations. They'd even played a game where they would hold up a book and if Derek read it already, he'd give a quick review afterwards that quick review turned into a full on conversation about the story. If he didn't read it yet, he'd grab it and check it out for himself.

Sofie picked the activity the next day. "Unicorns. Unicorns, everywhere." She said with awe in her voice as they entered a room full of unicorn themed objects like lamps, porcelain figures, wooden statues, marble statues, and even some toys.

"I've never seen so many unicorn based objects ever." Kurt looked up at the pile at the middle.

"…Brittany?" Reed snorted at Derek's remark towards Sofie, who promptly threw a unicorn plush doll at her friend.

"Shut up. You know I love unicorns." She motioned them to follow her. "If I'm going to have fun, _you're _going to have fun."

"Yes. Unicorns are fun." Kurt told her gently in the tone he used ever-so often for Brittany.

"Mock all you want!" Sofie scoffed. "You will see the light! The unicorn enriched light!" Reed chuckled at that one.

The day was spent in the company of various unicorn related items. They had even lied down on a unicorn duvet and stared at the ceiling, talking about whatever they could think of. When it was quiet, it was comfortable. Kurt figured that they had run out of things to talk about since they talk all the time. Reed and Derek were familiar with these silences since they have a lot of those. Derek would read, while Reed would sketch on his little notepad. Sometimes they would play music in the background. Sofie sighed into the duvet that smelled like strawberries though she didn't know where it's been. She hugged the plush unicorn on top of her closer. They stayed that way for a long time.

At the end of the day, Sofie took one very colorful porcelain figurine with the unicorn standing on its hind legs and its hair windswept. She didn't feel an ounce of shame.

"How are you going to explain that to your roommates?" Kurt asked.

"I'm all alone right now. I guess I'll tell them I got it for Christmas." She said without taking her eyes off the figurine in her hands.

Finally, Christmas Eve came. It was also Reed's turn to pick the theme. When they opened the doors, they were greeted by a bright room with tall windows on one side. A large gramophone sat in the center of the room. Various LP's surrounded it. The room was long and wide, perfect for moving around. There were various couches and chaises (one of which was unicorn themed) that littered the room and they looked soft. Some books lined floor as well as some instruments.

"A music room?" Sofie asked.

"More than that." Reed smiled. "It's a place where we can all relax and just hang out."

"What's with the instruments?" Kurt asked as they walked across the room, their footsteps echoing slightly.

Reed shrugged. "I just thought about having music. Derek plays some piano."

"I don't see a piano anywhere, but I do see some books." He said. He bent down to one of the Vinyl CD's. He lifted it up to read the cover.

Reed glanced over his friend's shoulder and grinned. On the cover was Reed's favourite band's first album. They were posing around with their instruments and time to time they would shove at each other playfully. On the top was their band name in cursive writing that was writing and rewriting itself. The writing was also a huge contrast to the band's alternative rock tone. "It's _Camisado_! I _love_ these guys!" Reed took it from Derek's hands. "It's their first album and… Oh hoggy warty Hogwarts, it's signed! Signed! By all of them! Signed!" This has been the most active Sofie and Kurt has seen Reed. He jumped and slipped, almost knocking the gramophone to the floor. Derek caught him before he fell face first on the floor.

"Finn plays these guys all the time at home." Kurt lifted an eyebrow. "They're okay."

Reed gasped and clutched the record on his chest. The band members on the cover were looking over to see what the fuss is all about. "Okay? _Okay?_ They're amazing!" He practically shrieked. Kurt and Sofie took a step backwards with Kurt raising his hands in defense.

"Woah, easy. We all have our own opinions. That's fine. Calm." Sofie said.

"Sorry about that. He just loves them so much." Derek patted Reed's hair down. "I'm going to put this on and Kurt can pick the next album."

They spent the day doing what the room was made for that moment, hanging out. They played music, Derek read on one of the couches, Sofie napped a little bit, Reed was busy taking Kurt into the _Camisado_ side to begin sketching in the slightly tattered but blank notebook. Kurt remained adamant on thinking they're a fine band but he didn't think they were at all ground breaking. Reed calmed down and began drawing the room. He got over it pretty quickly. They filled in silences from time to time, talking about Christmas the next day and when they were taking Rachel and Brittany to the room.

Sofie looked over Reed's head at some point while he was drawing. "That's pretty good, Reed."

"Thanks." Reed blushed a little bit. "I'm still working on it though."

"There's nothing to work on!" Derek said from one chaise. "You're amazing, I tell you all the time."

"My mum thinks I should work on it." Reed mumbled.

"Well, I think they're amazing and you should draw or paint us six some time." Derek didn't help Reed's blushing. He always gets the slightest bit flustered whenever someone compliments him.

Then Kurt spoke up. "Did you notice that the light coming from the windows hasn't changed since we got here?" They all looked at the window and realized the same thing. Sofie walked towards the gramophone to turn the volume down.

"Did you hear the bell?" She asked. The boy shook her head. "Bloody hell." They quickly stood up and Reed took the pad and the _Camisado_ record. When they exited the room, the sun just set and they were relieved that they hadn't missed dinner. They didn't come back in again; instead they went with Reed to Ravenclaw to leave the things he brought. The riddle was easily answered by Sofie and they entered quickly. Derek and Kurt looked up in awe.

"Your common room is brilliant." Derek said.

"On behalf of the house, thank you." Sofie grinned.

"Let's get to the Great Hall!" Reed said as he jogged down the stairs (stumbling in the process). They discussed plans for Christmas the next day, whether or not they should seclude themselves to the Room of Requirement again.

"Do you want to go back to the Room tomorrow for Christmas?" Kurt asked as they walked the corridors toward the Great Hall.

"It _would_ be lovely. I could grab some hot chocolate or tea from the kitchens." Derek suggested, the thought was very enticing.

"I don't think we should." Sofie said. "Think about it, people might start to wonder where we go to all the time and the Room won't be special anymore once everyone finds it out. We shouldn't make a habit of it. The Room is nice and all but…" She left the thought hanging because she felt like she the boys would be smart enough to understand the situation (also because she couldn't think of anything to say).

"She's right." Derek concluded. "It would be nice to just go there from time to time. I'm not saying we will but we could get tired of it… And I don't want to share." The four friends grinned at each other, sharing the same thought. None of them wanted anyone else in the Room. Or at least, none of them wanted to invade their little friend bubble.

* * *

><p>The next day, Sofie opened her eyes and greeted Christmas morning happily in her head. She pushed the covers away and slipped her feet into her slippers. She combed down her bed hair before venturing out of her room. Only a handful of Ravenclaws stayed during Christmas break and she was glad her cousin decided to stay with her (her older brothers were in different houses and she won't be seeing them until breakfast. Maybe not even then.)<p>

"Merry Christmas, Sofie!" Quinn Fabray jumped on her cousin's back and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's neck. Sofie stumbled a little bit.

"Merry Christmas, Quinn." She laughed. "Expecting any particular gift?"

"Aside from the broom polishing kit? No." They passed the threshold of the girls' dormitory and Quinn spread her arms wide. "Merry Christmas, Ravenclaw!" The resulting crash from the sudden outburst came from Reed's direction. He knocked down the Christmas tree in the middle of the common room with a wrapped up box.

"Bloody –! I'm sorry!" Reed said.

"Darn it, Fabray. Have you not realized that we shouldn't be surprising Reed?" Marcy, a fifth year, huffed.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Marce." Quinn retorted as she walked down the stairs. "Sorry about that, Reed."

"It's okay. Happens all the time." Reed smiled. "Merry Christmas." The Ravenclaws assembled around the now fallen tree to get their presents (some had to levitate the tree just to salvage theirs, fortunately nothing was broken). Slowly, there were sounds of glee coming from different students as they opened their gifts. Some expressed how much they missed their family and friends over the break. Others started playing with their presents and laughter filled the common room. Sofie, Reed, and Quinn sat on one of the couches, the latter two opening gifts and letters while the former was stacking them into neat piles.

"Aren't you going to open yours?" Reed asked as he pulled out a scarf with the initials RVK on the edge that came from his parents.

Sofie shrugged. "Maybe later. I'm really excited for the gifts but at the same time I don't want to be disappointed." Then she leaned in to whisper. "Also, if they bought me a camera, I wouldn't want to have the first pictures in it to be me in my sleep clothes." Reed rolled his eyes playfully and chuckled. "By the way, this is one of the two boxes of chocolates Mum sent." She gave him one of the red ribboned boxes.

"Aww, thanks! Do you want to have some chocolate frogs from Rachel?"

"I would love some." Sofie said and took from the pile of sweets.

"Quinn?" Reed offered. She hesitated for a bit but gave in after a few seconds of consideration. Reed smiled and went back digging through his gifts while Quinn got back to checking out her Quidditch kit. Sofie watched the two and glanced at her stack of gifts. She almost wanted to open them with great ferocity but she told herself to be patient.

"I'll go get ready for breakfast then." She grinned. "Then I'll open my gifts after."

Reed stood up and scooped all the presents into his arms, a dangerous thing to do since this would obstruct his line of sight to his feet. "I'll do the same, I'm feeling pretty hungry."

"You ate five boxes of chocolate frogs."

"That doesn't mean I wouldn't want breakfast anymore."

Sofie chuckled. "I'll see you later." Reed navigated through the common room towards the boys' dormitory carefully. Everyone was moving out of his way. Some were perceptive enough to move some of their discarded boxes away, as well as moving some of the furniture. Reed was uninjured until the first step where he got a paper cut from one of the gift wrappers when he hoisted the gifts in his arms higher. "Oh, bugger." He hissed and went up the stairs slowly.

"Reed, let me help you." Artie stopped mid step and took some of the gifts.

"Hey, thanks. Just woke up?" Reed quickly put in his finger in his mouth, tasting a little blood as they started to walk to the rooms.

"Yeah." He chuckled. "So, your room then?" Reed nodded. "I missed most of Christmas morning by now. What's up with everyone?"

"Nothing much, just gift opening and letter reading. I knocked over the Christmas tree."

Artie grinned and ruffled Reed's hair. "Somewhere out there, there's a coordination potion with your name on it."

"If there was one, my mum would've made it ages ago." Reed rolled his eyes.

"Or maybe the older students." Artie supplied.

"Or even Kurt." Reed chuckled. "That'll be the day."

Artie nodded empathically and stopped in front of the room. "And here we are." He opened the door. "Where do you want me to put these?"

"On my bed."

"Which one?"

"The one that looks slept in." Reed deadpanned.

"Your roommates are home for the holidays." Artie deduced and quickly put the gifts on Reed's bed. "Alright, I'll just go down and check on my things then, before David or Wes start opening them." Reed stepped into the room the same time Artie started to step out and he knocked Reed over. "Bloody hell, I'm really sorry Reed!"

"I'm okay, I've had worse." Reed rubbed his back as he sat up.

"Do you need any ice?"

"I'm good, I'm good." Artie nodded, stepped over the small boy and walked down the hall. Then he stopped in his tracks and ran back to help Reed up to his feet.

"I'm sorry, again, mate."

"Not really your fault, I'm accident prone." Reed shrugged. Artie patted Reed's shoulder before he left for his gifts, the same gifts that Wes was starting to unwrap because Artie was taking a long time to get them.

* * *

><p>"Wake up!"<p>

"It's Christmas!" The twins shouted and caused the floating piles of sweets to fall on Julian and Kurt. The two flailed in their bed, feeling as though they were either drowning or being attacked by little insects.

Julian groped for his wand and pointed it at the twins' direction. "_Flipendo!_" The spell missed the twins by a few inches and they just laughed.

"No need to get hostile, Julian."

"It's Christmas after all!"

"The day of peace!"

"Now get up before we open your presents for you!"

"_Flipendo!_" Julian sat up this time and the twins had to duck from the spell. The spell left another mark on the abused walls of their dorm room, marks that were caused by practicing spells and attacking the twins (or practicing spells _on_ the twins). They've tried to mend the walls but it just caused more damaged since none of them have mastered that spell just yet.

The twins left the room snickering. Kurt groaned from his bed and sat up sleepily. "I can't go back to sleep."

"Bloody twins." Julian grumbled as the stood up and started walking to the bathroom.

"Don't give me any ideas." Kurt mumbled and smiled at Julian. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

"Kurt! You have quite a hefty parcel from your dad and mum!" Evan shouted from the common room.

"Mind if we look?" Ethan added.

Kurt ran to the door and shouted. "Touch any more of my things and I swear I will put you in a full body-bind curse for the rest of the holiday!" Ethan and Evan immediately dropped the box and lopped over to their own opened gifts.

"_He's _no fun, huh, Ev?"

"Definitely."

Kurt regained his composure and walked calmly to the common room.

* * *

><p>Sofie gasped as she held up her present. It was a camera, the camera she's been bugging her parents about since they passed by it in Diagon Alley. She couldn't believe she actually got it. She looked back into the box and found a few rolls of film with a note attached.<p>

_We figured you'd use up your first roll quickly, so we bought you a few more._

"Mum and Dad are awesome!" She practically whispered. She quickly pulled out a roll and stuffed it into the camera. She pointed it at Reed and with a flash she took her first picture with her new camera. "Lovely."

Reed was practically blinded by the flash and he began rubbing his eyes. But before he could see again Sofie was already tugging at his sleeve. "C'mon! I have got to show Kurt and Derek!"

"Are you seriously going to hang out with that Puff _again_?" Amos, one of the third years, said. The room quickly turned icy. Everyone froze and watched silently from the sides. Reed and Sofie looked at him in surprise.

"What's it to you?" Sofie glared.

"Well, to _me_," he retorted with far too much superiority in his voice, "I don't think we should associate ourselves with wizards who are barely even wizards." The two bristled at the words Amos uttered and they couldn't believe what they heard. "And you're _Ravenclaws_, you should know better."

Reed was the first to snap out of it and started tugging on Sofie. "Seeing as you are not our parent, I suggest you keep your opinions about our friends to yourself." He spat, Sofie was still glaring.

Amos shrugged as if what he said didn't leave a heinous impression on the Christmas day. "I'm just trying to help. Hufflepuffs are just here because they have a pinch of magic in them." He then smirked, followed by a bit of a snicker from one of his friends who found the verbal jab unreasonably funny. Sofie scoffed and the two friends stalked away.

"I can't believe that prick! Why is he even in this school?" Reed fumed as they walked out of the tower.

"I _know_!" Sofie groaned in frustration. "He practically ruined Christmas now!"

"I bet he'll want that." Reed muttered. Even though he was angry at Amos for saying those words (more so that he came from the same House), he could let that affect him the whole day. After all, they should be happy on this day.

"Reckon we tell McGonagall?" Sofie asked.

"After the holiday, she needs a break too." Reed sighed.

"Alright, but _after_ holiday we'll rat on Amos."

"Deal." They shared a satisfied smile and continued down the stairs to the Great Hall.

* * *

><p>Derek sat in the Hall with Terry beside him. There was only one table for the students since there weren't many of them left over during the holiday. He was eating very slowly as he waited for the rest of his friends to arrive. He was also reading a new book he got from his parents that day. The Hall was warm even though the ceiling was emitting snow over their heads. Derek found it very beautiful with the gigantic trees that lined the walls.<p>

The Hall was filled with various conversations about what they got from their families as well as how delicious the food tasted. The noise was the kind of noise Derek welcomed.

"I wonder what they're serving us tonight." Terry mused after another bite of his crème brûlée. "My sister said that the Christmas feast would be the best feast."

"I'm guessing towering cakes." Derek smiled and there was a huge flash of light.

"A book for Christmas," Sofie shook her head. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Because you're my _friiieeend_." Derek laughed as the two sat down in front of him. "I like your camera."

"Thanks, my parents got it for me." She placed the camera delicately in front of her and started putting food on her plate.

"I figured."

"Where's Kurt?" Reed asked mid-food-putting.

Derek shrugged. "I assumed he was with you."

"And I am now here." Kurt announced. "Merry Christmas everyone. And I have some news. The Gryffindors are having a party." Kurt said as he sat down beside Derek. "It's this New Year's eve, everyone's invited."

"Why are you whispering?" Sofie asked.

"The teachers aren't supposed to know." He replied.

"How are we supposed to hide that party from them? The portraits would rat us out." Derek hissed. "It'll just get us in trouble."

"A couple of sixth years told me that they're holding it in here." Kurt grinned.

"What?" Sofie, Reed, Derek, and Terry gasped.

"Shh!" He leaned in closer. "They assure us that we won't get caught. Just show up at Gryffindor tower a little after curfew and we'll let you in."

"If you say so." Sofie mumbled and ate a piece of beef.

Derek was a bit apprehensive of it, but since Kurt would be going and he trusted these people, he didn't see any reason to say no. There was another flash and there was a gasp from Kurt's direction. "I wasn't ready!"

"You don't have to be. Stolen shots are bloody brilliant. And I'll make the pictures move anyway, so it won't matter." Sofie reached over to pat Kurt's cheek. "Can't wait for Brit and Rachel to get back. We need a group shot."

"That would be cute, like every year we'll have at least one together." Kurt said. "Speaking of together, what did you get from Brit and Rachel? I got mittens from Brittany and Rachel sent me sweets."

"I think they sent us the same things." Derek grinned and raised his mittens from under the table.

"Huh… Go figure." Reed said.

"Well that was very cheap of them." Sofie said. The boys looked at her in surprise and she laughed. "What? I was only joking!"

* * *

><p>New Years' Eve arrived faster than expected. It passed by with a blur of snowball fights, hot chocolate with marshmallows and a quick trip to the Room of Requirement (with hot chocolate and Brittany and Rachel's letters). Derek and Terry were the last Hufflepuffs to arrive. Derek was stalling just a little bit when he was picking out and putting on his clothes. Terry was nice enough to stay with him.<p>

"Okay I'm ready." Derek breathed.

"Don't be nervous, it's not like they're going to expel us if we get caught." Terry chuckled.

"So you agree? You think we're going to get caught?"

Terry rolled his eyes. "C'mon, move it! I actually want to go to this party."

"So do I!" Derek said indignantly. "I'm just being careful is all… Do you think they'll owl my parents about it?"

"Derek, I'm saying this as a friend and roommate. Calm. Down!" Terry stuck his head out of the passageway and dragged Derek outside. Derek's eyes shifted side to side, portrait to portrait. All of them seem to be sleeping soundly in their frames as the two boys tiptoed towards the stairs. They were careful not to make any sound since it was well pass curfew and Filch would just love to find an excuse to punish them. They arrived at the Fat Lady portrait and she was looking rather irritated. Kurt was waiting outside.

"Took your time." He said, sounding the slightest bit annoyed.

"Sorry." Derek said.

"Are you the last ones?" The Fat Lady asked crossly.

"I think so."

"Good. I have half the mind to tell Professor McGonagall but I need to rest, so consider yourselves lucky." She scowled and let them in. The three boys wondered how paintings need their rest as they walked in. They were paintings after all.

"I didn't think you could make it." Sofie said as Kurt let Derek and Terry into the common room. "The basements are a far place."

"I can be sneaky if I want to." Derek told her and she laughed.

"You were stalling, weren't you?" She smirked.

Before Derek could defend himself, Terry spoke up. "Yes he was." Sofie laughed again and shook her head.

It was dimly lit in the room, a couple dozen students stood around the room. Derek could see the twins Kurt talked about before standing beside each other, grinning madly at everyone. Mercedes waved at him and he waved back. He and Sofie stood beside Reed and Kurt before the prefect in the middle – Rick – spoke up.

"Alright, is that everyone?" They nodded. "Okay. Follow me." He led them towards a blank canvas behind a plush red chair and he pointed at it, muttering a spell and it swung open, revealing a dark passageway. "Right, no one turn their wands on until the portrait swings close, we wouldn't want the portraits waking up on us. Casey, Spencer." Two Gryffindors carrying bags walked ahead of the group, the rest followed and Rick stayed behind until the last student went in and he closed the portrait behind him. "_Lumos._" The others followed and they went down the dark passageway, barely making any noise.

"Isn't this exciting? An actual party in actual Hogwarts!" Sofie whispered after a couple of minutes of walking.

"Yeah, it is." Derek said. "Until we get caught and have negative points."

"I know I should be worried about that, but you just made it more exciting. Bring on the teachers." She was looking too excited at the prospect of getting caught to keep him comfortable.

Kurt smacked Derek's arm, sensing the tension. "Are you always like this?"

"He's a worrier, if you haven't noticed." Reed smirked. "Don't get so paranoid, Derek."

"Excuse me for thinking about it." He raised his arms in defense.

The group ahead of them stopped. Casey muttered another spell against the wall and it started to open for them.

They were in the empty Great Hall and Derek could hear his heart pounding in his ears with excitement. They really were doing this.

"Quickly, lock the doors, get the silencing charms up, and have a patronus look out." Rick commanded and the students went into action. Rick went over to Casey and Spencer and they took out the decorations and food. Some of the third and fourth years helped them with the decorations. A sixth year Ravenclaw and Slytherin called out two patronuses, one a fox and the other an ostrich, the two students smiled and the animals vanished outside the doors. The few first years did their part by magically locking the doors and the seventh years went around keeping the noise in the hall.

"The charms are up, Rick." A fourth year Hufflepuff called.

The prefect smiled. "Excellent." Spencer pulled out a sound system and started playing some music. The twins went around lighting the fires in the hall with the other students. They must've been really good with fires because they'd made them glow the different house colors. Their laughter rang above the music and some were having fun just watching them.

"They're really good." Sofie commented. "I couldn't make my flames change color aside from green."

"Keep in mind, the twins are good at pranking, and they don't even make us lose points! They've pranked Filch twice!" Kurt said.

"That was _them_?" Reed gasped. Kurt nodded.

The students welcomed the New Year with much gusto. The older students even taught them how to make fireworks just so they could have a great display when midnight struck. Derek couldn't help but getting trigger happy with the fireworks until he accidentally almost fired one into Reed's hair. After that, he tried to keep his wand pointing upward. Most of the students were eating more, some Hufflepuffs snuck some food out of the kitchens and they had their own little feast.

"Those are some pretty good fireworks." The twins commented after he fired another firework up in the air.

"Thanks." Derek grinned. "They're fun to make."

"I'm Evan." One said.

"I'm Ethan." The other followed. "You hang out a lot with Kurt."

"Yeah, he's one of my best friends." He looked up at them. "I'm Derek."

They grinned very wide grins that Derek thought was unnatural. "Look up." Both of them said and Derek looked up. A cake was suspended in the air just a few inches over him and it started to fall. He was late to react and it collided into his face. Laughter erupted from the twins and they ran away before Derek could hex them. Sofie, Reed, and Kurt came over laughing a little bit as Derek fumed.

"_I liked these clothes_."

"You're starting to sound like Kurt." Sofie said and started to take the cake off his face.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Kurt raised his eyebrow.

"Sof, we're lucky he didn't bring a book or the hall would explode." Reed said. "C'mon, let's get you cleaned."

"I forgot to mention that they would prank anybody, didn't I?" Kurt said.

"Oh I don't know, _maybe._" Derek glared as they made their way to the open wall.

"Sweet Merlin, Finn's dancing!" Kurt was horrified when the scene passed their line of vision. They paused to watch. "Say nothing!" He said tightly as his friends started to shake with laughter as his stepbrother continued dancing with his other friends. It wasn't exactly dancing; it was more like flailing and awkward wiggling.

"Oh this _delicious_." Derek laughed while Kurt tried to push them away. "This is your punishment for not warning me about the twins."

Kurt scoffed. "_Please_, I deserve less than _that_."

"Hey, hey, hey, _hey._" Luxor blocked their path. He took a swig from the bottle that was in his hand. "Where do you think you're going?"

The four eyed the Slytherin prefect warily. He was clearly drunk and they didn't know what to do. They were torn between ignoring him and talking to him. "Um," Sofie started, "we were going to take Derek out to get him cleaned." As if to add emphasis, a piece of cake dripped down from Derek's head onto his shirt.

"Nonesense!" The prefect slurred and took out his wand. They flinched when he flicked it towards Derek. Nothing happened except Derek getting cleaned. He breathed out the breath he didn't know he was holding in.

"Thanks." Derek said.

"No problem! It's a pretty bitchin' party, yeah? It's just started, mates! Can't have you leaving!" Luxor took another swig and stretched his arm to give it to them. "Have a drink! Go on! It's perfectly good Firewhisky." When none of them made a move for it, he forcibly put it in Reed's hand.

"Uh…"

"Lux!" Spencer ran towards the group. "Lux, you can't go around giving first years Firewhisky."

"I'm prefect! I can do whatever I want!" Luxor poked Spencer's chest as emphasis to every word. "Wow your chest is so hard. You Gryffindor keepers must work out a lot huh…"

"Alright, Lux, let's go get you to Casey… Or someone from your house." Spencer said soothingly. "I'll take that." Reed readily gave up the bottle of alcohol. "Enjoy the party. Sorry about him. He promised not to get drunk again."

"You know you're pretty fit for a Gryffindor. Are you sure you're straight?" Luxor said as Spencer took him away.

"Hogwarts." Derek chuckled. "Keeps surprising you when you think you've seen it all."

"What do you guys feel like doing now?" Reed asked. Suddenly, the music picked up the pace and someone was whooping in the middle of it. The students gathered closer together and they started dancing. The older students (some drunk, some sober) started climbing up the tables to dance. They fired fireworks that looped around the hall in beat with the music. They conjured up some orbs of light that changed color above the dancing heads.

"Party!" Sofie shouted and grabbed Derek's hand to drag him to the dancing bodies. He didn't hesitate to follow; it looked like it was fun. Reed gestured to the crowd. Kurt warily watched the gyrating bodies.

"Kurt, it'll be fun!" Reed said, tugging on Kurt's sleeve.

Taller boy sighed, followed by an eye roll. "If you say so." Reed grinned and led Kurt towards what he thought was Sofie and Derek. The song warped into a muggle song that only some students knew and they cheered about it. Something about "Oops" and doing it again. None of the four really knew who sang it (they were sure Brittany did) but they liked the song. The interesting part about the little dance floor was that no one was being separated per year level; everyone was just having a good time together. It was clear that everyone was having a really good time (especially the ones that were getting drunk on Firewhiskey).

After several minutes of dancing, Sofie, Derek, Reed, and Kurt moved away to the table to get some refreshments. They watched the students dancing around and making absolute fools of themselves. Derek shot some fireworks over them, earning some cheers. "Isn't it wonderful how you learn something from a party?" He grinned. Then some of the older (drunk) students pulled away from the crowd and moved towards the closed doors of the Great Hall. Two of them cast a spell causing the door to swing open. There were eleven of them, mostly sixth years and seventh years, though there were a few fourth years and fifth years (and one third year – Amos).

"Woo! Hogwarts rocks!" One seventh year Hufflepuff said as she produced streamers from her wand and ran out of the Hall. The other seven followed with fireworks, flowers, confetti, and other things coming out of their wands. They were being really loud and being very drunk. The music stopped in the hall and everyone watched as they escaped.

"Shit." Rick said. Another "woo" echoed back to them, making Rick snap out of it. "Someone get them back. Everyone move! Go back to your dorms if you want but please someone get those students back to Gryffindor house!" Most of the students ran for the secret passage to Gryffindor house, leaving a handful of them (the ones who weren't afraid to get caught and Derek who tried to leave but Sofie held him in place) in the Hall.

"Why can't we just go?" Derek whispered.

"It'll be fun!" She hissed back. "We'll just be in and out before you know it." She pulled on Derek and Reed towards the doors, Kurt and Finn followed.

Terry wanted to follow as well but his sister grabbed him by his shirt collar. "_Triiiish_!"

"No, absolutely _not_, Terrance! Mum and Dad will have my head if you get into trouble!" His sister glared at him with such authority that he sighed and walked to the secret passage unhappily.

"All the other years have all the fun." He grumbled.

The same went down on the Brightman front. "Finally, some fun!" Ethan grinned wildly at his twin. "Shall we Evan?"

"We shall." They crept along the walls, hoping to evade their prefect sister, Audrey, who was busy getting the other students into the passageway and out of trouble. They almost got to the doors before two quick body-bind spells got them from behind.

"I'm sorry, so, so sorry." Audrey said as she started to levitate her brothers to the passageway. "I know I promised not to use magic on you two but I had no choice. I need to keep you two out of trouble." If the twins could roll their eyes, they would. Audrey didn't _have_ to apologize after all. She was just doing her job, both as prefect and their older sister. That didn't stop them from feeling a bit of regret that they couldn't get out of the Great Hall faster.

* * *

><p>Ed wasn't really the one to get drunk, especially since he's just fourteen. But in the height of the moment, he couldn't resist the Firewhisky that was presented to him. After trying it for the first time, he just <em>had<em> to have another sip, and another, and another. Running around Hogwarts was probably the most exhilarating thing in the world. It was better since he was laughing with a few of his new friends. Funny thing though, he barely remembered any of their names.

"These suits of armor look a little drab don't you think?" Holly asked before causing the dark armor to turn pink and she added a Ravenclaw scarf. "There much better." Then she proceeded to turn every suit in the corridor a different kind of neon colour. Lux was shooting fireworks from his wand, waking up the paintings. _What pretty sparks…_ He thought as he fired another one.

"Hey! Stop that!" Spencer pointed at them.

"You're going to have to catch us first!" Edward laughed and shot a firework towards the older student before running (and stumbling) after the others who ran. Holly laughed and conjured some birds to distract Spencer.

"We don't have time for this! We're gonna get caught if you don't come back willingly!" Spencer called amidst bird attacks.

"Stop being such a party pooper, Spence!" Lux called over his shoulder. "We're having fun!"

* * *

><p>On the other side of the castle, Reed and Derek were catching up to Amos. He was dangerously running down on the stairs as he tried to knock down every painting he came across. Sofie, Kurt and Finn were following a Slytherin named Vanessa who was outside the castle trying to set fire to the snow.<p>

"Amos! Amos, stop! You're going to hurt yourself!" Derek called. Even though he was drunk, Amos was a meter farther than the other two.

"You and what army? You're just a Hufflepuff loser!" Amos cackled as he tried to knock down a painting of a girl in a tutu.

Reed scowled and turned to Derek. "Sorry about him." He proceeded to miss one step on the stairs and fell on the landing.

"It's fine." Derek said as he helped his friend up. "Let's just get him and go."

"He's the one who's drunk but I'm the one who's falling down the stairs." They laughed.

"What're _you_ two laughing at?" Amos had stopped running. He leaned on one of the banisters, feeling like he was about to throw up on the marble floors. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No." Reed said calmly. "No, we're not laughing at you…"

"Shut up you Puff lover! I know you were!" New rage rolled over Amos as he looked at the useless Hufflepuff standing beside Reed. He couldn't comprehend how the two were still friends. Hufflepuffs were the lowest house. Surely Reed would've noticed that after months of spending time with a couple of them.

"_That_ was some mood swing." Derek mumbled and took out his wand.

"What d'you say?" Amos pointed his wand at Derek. He knew fully well that they were mocking him. He knew it. He made a jab against the Puff and they were compensating by ridiculing him. There was a brief flashback of his older brothers teasing him and he started to fume some more.

"Nothing I –"

"Bullocks! _Bombar –_"

"_Petrificus totalus!_" Reed cried and Amos fell down on the floor with a loud thud.

"Thanks." Derek sighed.

"No problem." They walked towards him and surveyed the bound body. "I'm really sorry about him."

"It's okay. He's drunk." Derek sighed. "_Wingardium Leviosa._" The body levitated slowly.

"Yeah but just because you're in Hufflepuff it doesn't mean that we're any better."

Derek smiled fondly at Reed and gave him a half-hug. "I know Reed, thanks… C'mon let's get this arse back to Gryffindor."

* * *

><p>Confetti shot from their wands as they laughed down the corridor. "Wake up, wake up! It's the New Year!" Marie sang as she rocked the portraits. The people in the frames woke up crossly.<p>

"Have you no manners, girl?" One woman in the pictures asked. She was denied an answer; instead she got confetti shot at her. The two girls laughed and continued their way through the deserted hall. Marie rocked all the portraits she came across, finding it absolutely amusing when they woke up. Shannon was content on shooting confetti from her wand.

"Marie, don't you think we'll get in trouble for that?" Shannon asked in slurred speech when Marie flipped a portrait upside down and laughed at the man who fell. She couldn't believe it, a man falling in a _picture_.

"What? _No_. I can't get in trouble! I'm in my seventh year! They can't expel me! I have yet to get to my N.E.W.T's!" Marie answered, forgetting the fact that they _can_ expel seventh years. Unfortunately, she wasn't in her right state of mind.

"Weeeeeeeeeeee!" Ellery breezed through the corridors, just running aimlessly and waving her wand, causing it to rain over her.

"Hey! You're ruining my confetti!" Shannon, wanting to prove her point shot more confetti out of her wand. Marie turned her attention to a group portrait of sleeping wizards. She grabbed both sides of the frame and started rocking it back and forth, jolting the picture awake.

* * *

><p>Casey and Marcy followed a trail of confetti down a long and winding corridor in the third floor. It was getting really quiet and it's either Ellery passed out on the floor or they should be on their guard against rogue spells.<p>

"Some party, eh?" Casey whispered as Marcy walked the bend and raised her wand, greeted by another dark corridor.

"Yeah, it was. Fun while it lasted. I hope we don't get expelled for this." Marcy said. "Ell, come on out before we get ex – oof!"

"Hi Marcy!" The seventh year Ravenclaw giggled after tackling her friend down. "I missed you! I got lost here and I just couldn't find my way out after throwing up on the carpet." Casey blanched at the mention of this.

"Case, get the vomit, I'll get this one to Gryffindor… Why are you wet?"

"Oh we're going to Gryffindor again? Will there be more Firewhiskey?" Ellery bounced on Marcy, making her too breathless to answer. All she could think about were ways to bring Ellery back to Gryffindor tower peacefully and painless stun spells.

"Marie! We are _so_ getting in trouble!" A voice pierced the quiet corridor.

"Oh hush! It's not like it ripped or anything. It just fell from the wall." Marcy and Casey looked at each other while Ellery rolled off of her friend and started giggling at the ceiling. Seeing that one drunken girl was done, they had at least two to deal with. Marcy nodded at her friend and both of them crept to the bend.

They found Marie trying to swing a portrait back to the wall. "Will you _put me down_? I demand it!" The painting screeched.

"Belt up, you stupid old hag." Marie rolled her eyes. "Can't you see I'm trying to get you back on your place?"

"All I can see is a drunken little girl just waiting to be expelled." The painting huffed. Marie scowled and dropped the painting.

Shannon gasped. "Marie!"

"She was asking for it."

Before Shannon could form a reply, both were stunned and they slumped down on the floor. Marcy and Casey looked down at the two girls at their feet and pondered how they were going to lug three bodies up to Gryffindor tower.

* * *

><p>"Shh, be quiet. I hear something." Kurt said, making Sofie and Finn pause. Aside from Vanessa groaning in Finn's arms there was a loud knocking sound coming from Ravenclaw's direction. Kurt and Sofie shared a look while Finn hoisted Vanessa higher so she won't fall down the staircase. "We should go check it."<p>

"I'll go bring Vanessa to Gryffindor." Finn said breathlessly. Kurt nodded to his stepbrother and Finn trudged down the opposite direction. Kurt and Sofie walked the corridor silently and as they neared Ravenclaw tower, the knocking grew louder and louder. When they were near enough they could hear voices.

"Why do Dementors exist?" The knocker asked.

"For the last time, you daft knocker, I really don't know! Just let me in Ravenclaw tower and let me see what the bloody hell is inside!" The knocker didn't reply and the boy kept on knocking. He just really wanted to see what the Ravenclaw house looked like, as well as Hufflepuff and Slytherin. It's all he wanted. "Just. Let. Me. In!"

"Wait, I think I've seen him before." Sofie commented as they closed in.

"That's Voltaire." Kurt supplied. "Gryffindor beater."

"Oh right, the one who got knocked out by the bludger that first match."

"How do you propose on making him settle down?" The two warily eyed the tall fourth year who was knocking furiously at the door, trying desperately to be let in. Kurt turned to Sofie. "You could answer it for him."

"I don't know why Dementors exist." Sofie whispered, and then she aimed her wand. "_Petrificus totalus._" Voltaire turned rigid and fell over. They walked over to the bound body and stared down at him. Luckily, he landed with his face to the floor so he wouldn't know who cursed him. "Wingardium leviosar… wingardiu –"

"Stop." Kurt said, holding Sofie's wand down. "You're going to kill him. It's _leviOsa_, not _leviosar_."

"You do it then if you're so clever."

"_Wingardium leviosa._" Voltaire floated a few inches from the floor.

"I need to practice on that." Sofie huffed and they brought the body back to Gryffindor.

* * *

><p>"Alright, alright! Is everyone accounted for?" Rick hysterically asked as he paced the floor of his common room. A bunch of students nodded but Reed stood up.<p>

"Sofie and Kurt aren't here yet." He said. Just then, the aforementioned two appeared in the common room bringing an extra body with them. "Never mind." Reed sat back down.

"Who's that?" Rick asked.

"Voltaire." Kurt answered and started lowering the beater down gently to the floor.

"No stop!" Rick said suddenly. Kurt lost focus and there was a loud thud when Voltaire landed.

"Sorry…" Kurt tried to wave his wand again before Rick made a motion for him to stop.

"Just – just leave him." Kurt and Sofie shifted uncomfortably for two seconds before rushing towards Derek, Reed, Terry, and Finn at the back of the common room.

Rick dragged a hand down his face and turned to the only remaining prefects. "Is that everyone yet?"

"Luxor's not here." Audrey answered making a couple of Slytherins groan, as well as Rick.

"Neither are Ed and Spencer." Trish added. Spencer ran into the room breathless. "That settles it, Lux and Ed aren't here." Trish smiled brightly, hoping to lighten the mood but Rick just shot her a tired look and she shrugged.

"Where are Lux and Ed?" Rick turned to Spencer.

He sucked in a gulp of breath before answering. "I tried looking for them. I lost track when I reached the seventh floor." Derek, Reed, Sofie, Kurt, and Finn looked at each other at the mention of the floor. They had an idea where the two were but none of them spoke up.

"At least it's over now." Rick sighed. The students in front of him visibly stiffened, he was confused at the action but then someone cleared their throat. Fear washed over him like a barrel of cold water and he turned around. Professor McGonagall as well as the house heads was standing at the entrance.

"Students, report to your respective houses," all the Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws shot up from their seats as soon as they heard the command. Trish and Audrey started to leave too but the next command made them freeze on the spots. "I would like to have a word with the present prefects, in my office."

"I'll see you three tomorrow… Hopefully." Kurt whispered and went up to his dormitory.

Sofie leaned into his friends. "You have to admit, that was a rather exciting New Year."

Derek laughed ruefully. "Yes, getting caught just puts the icing on the cake." Sofie raised her eyebrow, making Derek roll his eyes. "_Fine._ I had fun, I won't deny it." Sofie grinned and patted her friend on the back.

"See, told you."

"Let's just hope we'll be back next year." Reed shuddered at the thought. "Well, we'll see you tomorrow." Then they separated into Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

While Sofie and Reed walked towards the tower's entrance, she realized something. "Now we'll find out why Dementors exist!" Apparently, there was something of a bright side to having their head of house lead them back to Ravenclaw.

* * *

><p>"Where is Mr. Bellmore?" The headmistress asked when they arrived in her office. The three prefects didn't want to meet her eye. She put her hands on her hips and said. "Well?"<p>

"We – we don't know, professor." Audrey answered.

"Why is that?" The room was practically icy and the silence was choking their insides.

"He's one of the… casualties, professor." Rick answered this time.

"Casualties, Mr. Tossum?" Professor McGonagall arched an eyebrow.

Rick bit his lip, he didn't want to say it but he did. "He's one of the intoxicated students, professor. And we seem to have misplaced him… And Edward Freidmont."

After a minute of unnerving silence, she finally spoke again. "I am disappointed in all of you." She glared at them over her spectacles "You're _prefects_ and you let this happen." Rick, Trish, and Audrey looked down at their shoes for a second, feeling shamed.

"But professor," Trish said, "it's the New Year. Surely we're allowed to –"

"My dear, you are _quite_ allowed to… to _party_ all you want, I understand that. I'm just disappointed that you that you let _this_ get out of hand." The headmistress waved her hand as emphasis before sighing. "About a dozen students are drunk, including one prefect, some vandalized the castle and woke up the paintings in an unpleasant manner! I'm surprised to hear that none of you were seriously injured! I have half the mind to expel all of you." The three winced. "However, since it is the New Year and you are new at this post, I will let it go for the mean time. A hundred points from each house, no detention." The three prefects let out the collective breath they were holding and relaxed.

"Thank you, _thank you_, professor!" Trish breathed. "And we won't ever let this happen again."

"I'm sure you won't." Professor McGonagall deadpanned, they nodded. "You may go." The three shuffled together towards the door.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Trish said a little too brightly while they walked down the spiral staircase that led to the headmistress's office.

"Yeah, I suppose it could've gone worse." Audrey mused. "I wonder where Lux and Ed are."

Rick snorted. "Wherever they are, I just hope Lux is smart enough to use protection."

"Wait," Audrey stopped in the middle of the dark deserted corridor, "is Ed gay?"

"I would like to say 'it's none of my business to say anything' and 'it's something you should ask Ed yourself' but yes, he is _so_ gay." Rick laughed lightly. Audrey tossed it around her head for a moment before shrugging and walking along with the other two.

"That's too bad, Ed was kind of fit don't you think?" Trish said.

Audrey laughed. "Whatever happened to 'I'm setting my sights for one Chase Dalton'?"

"Okay, first of all, you're making me sound a lot flirtier than I actually am. Second of all, can't a girl have multiple crushes? Is that _such_ a crime?"

"Argh, my manhood! Being. _Drained_." Rick groaned dramatically.

Trish rolled her eyes. "Piss off, Tossum!" Then she grinned. "You're the one to talk. You go about flirting with innocent fourth years when all you want is Gwen."

Rick colored red and muttered, "That's different."

"_Of_ course it is." She laughed. "It's really pathetic, really, all this pining for her. Get some balls and ask her out already!"

"I'm working on it." He mumbled again, running his fingers through his hair. The girls laughed at Rick's expense. At first he was squirming with embarrassment but now he just grinned at the two. "Really! I am!"

"We better see progress then by the next Hogsmeade visit." Audrey smirked.

"But that's on Valentine's." He said stubbornly.

"Exactly." Trish said.

"Work your magic, lover boy." Audrey weaved her fingers through his hair and he tried swatting her off. They stopped at the staircases and the three of them heaved another sigh. "Here's my stop. I actually had fun tonight, except for the McGonagall thing. Keep an eye on my brothers, Rick?"

"No." She smacked his arm and he just laughed. "I'm only joking! I will!"

"You better." She glowered.

"Speaking of brothers, check on Terry for me, Aud." Trish said.

"I really hate it when you call me that." Audrey sighed.

"But you can never make me stop." The two girls laughed and Audrey made her way down to Hufflepuff house while the other two made their ways to Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.

* * *

><p>"Don't be so nervous, Brittany." Rachel said as she straightened her headband.<p>

"But what if they don't remember us?" Brittany asked worriedly.

Rachel rolled her eyes then smiled at her loveably ditzy friend. Jude and Mercedes looked at Brittany with stunned expressions. Rachel waved it off. "We've just been gone a couple of weeks, I'm sure they remember us."

"You're right… You're right. There's nothing to be worried about." She breathed in a deep breath, admiring Hogwarts as they neared it via carriage. Then she turned to Rachel with a new concern. "What if they didn't like the mittens I got them?"

"Brittany, you said so yourself that there's nothing to be worried about. Calm down." Rachel said patiently. Brittany nodded this time. "We're almost there."

"Yeah, we are." Brittany stuck her head out of the window and watched as her second home came closer after so many days away from it. It didn't look like it changed. She always thought it would since it's magic but the only thing that changed is the snow on top of the castle. "Have you ever seen something so beautiful?"

Rachel smiled fondly, both at her friend and Hogwarts. "Yes, it's very stunning." It felt really nice to be back there.

"The snow adds a nice touch don't you think?" Jude commented at the snow reflecting the winter sunlight, making the castle look like it's covered in gems. The girls voiced their agreement.

"Gosh, it's good to be back!" Mercedes exclaimed as the carriage passed the gates. They saw the magnitude of students greeting their friends at the main entrance. The sight warmed the first years' hearts. "Everyone's out to greet us!"

"There they are!" Brittany pointed to a random spot in the sea of people but Rachel could see Reed's curly strawberry blond hair, Derek's latest book, Sofie's pale skin, and Kurt's lovely outfit. Rachel couldn't help but feel very happy to be near them once again.

"Derek, Reed, Sofie, Kurt!" Brittany squealed as soon as the carriage stopped and she ran towards her friends. Rachel was closely behind her. Sofie took out her camera and she took their picture. Brittany gave them a huge group hug while Rachel laughed. "I _missed_ you so much! I've told my parents everything about you! They would like to see you soon! How was Christmas? Did get my gifts?"

"Yeah, we did." Kurt chuckled and the four of them raised their mittens. Brittany clapped excitedly.

"I hoped you enjoyed my sweet baskets." Rachel beamed.

"Oh yeah we did!" Sofie said. "But there was a problem with the Bertie Botts Beans; they were all in the same flavour…"

"Yes! They're all berry flavoured so you would be reminded of me." Sofie laughed and gave Rachel a long hug.

"I should've guessed." Kurt laughed too.

"I missed talking to you! I have a lot of things to say!" Rachel said.

"I bet you do." Reed joked then glanced at Derek.

"And we have a lot to tell you two." Derek said. "But we have something to show you."

"Is it a mermaid?" Brittany asked.

"No."

"That's too bad."

"But what we're going to show you is so much better." Sofie said while bringing them in the castle.

"What's better than mermaids?" Brittany asked incredulously.

Sofie just said, "You'll see. But hold on! We need to have a picture together; my parents got me a camera." She searched around for someone to take their picture but everyone else seemed busy. But Rachel found them a photographer just as he passed by.

"Jude! Jude, can I ask you a favour?" Rachel said.

Jude shrugged and smiled slightly. "Yeah."

"Jude, can you take our picture?"

"Sure." Sofie excitedly gave up her camera and went to her place between Reed and Brittany, then she moved her jet black hair from her face and smiled. Rachel stood beside Derek, and then she flipped her hair back. Kurt draped his arm around Brittany's neck and smiled proudly at his friends and then to the camera. "Ready? One, two, three…" There was a bright flash. "Nice camera, Sofie."

"Thanks!" She smiled broadly and she took the camera.

"I'm blind. Rachel, I'm blind!" Brittany joked.

"Me too, Brit." Rachel laughed.

Kurt took both of the girls' hands and pulled them towards the staircase. "C'mon, we have that something special to show you!" The two girls were brought to their special place of course, the Room of Requirement. It was _theirs_, Brittany and Rachel got that from the start. It was a special room for special friends. It was a sanctuary, a place where all the rest can just disappear and it would be just the six of them, relaying stories, laughing, singing, and just talking about different things. It was a place that would conform to their imagination if the laws of magic allow it. It was like their own Hogwarts in a smaller package, or probably their own Hogwarts house that only they knew the password to. They would try naming it but it would take too long to do. Maybe one day. But then, they could just lie down on the carpet that smelled like springtime and stare at the faux clouds all day long.

* * *

><p>"So, Berry, it's come to this." Sofie said evenly as they met at the entrance of the Quidditch pitch.<p>

"I believe so, Salvadair." Rachel replied in the same tone. Both of the girls are decked in Slytherin and Ravenclaw colours. They were holding pompons that were passed around the night before for the Slytherin versus Ravenclaw championship that day. They looked each other from head to toe and grinned a little bit. "May the best house – Slytherin – win, then?"

Sofie laughed. "You'll be eating your words, Berry, when my cousin catches the Snitch before your friend does."

"I'll have you know that Jesse is an exceptional seeker." Rachel said airily then both of them laughed.

"I see you've brought Kurt and Brittany to _your_ side." Sofie playfully glared at her two other friends who were wearing green and silver. They picked sides earlier on but it was just fun playing like they've been betrayed by each other.

"I'm really sorry, Sof." Brittany giggled. "But she bribed me with some chocolate."

"Change now, Brit, and I will give you all the chocolate you want."

Brittany just giggled some more and shook her head. "I don't have anything Ravenclaw on me."

"Fine!" Sofie said with mock anger. "Be that way. I hope you enjoy being part of the loser cheerers… _Kurt_." She knew that Kurt didn't like losing.

He smirked at her. "We'll see about _that_, Salvadair."

"Let's go, Reed, Derek." Sofie said. "At least _they're_ loyal."

"Please," Rachel rolled her eyes, "Derek would never say no to Reed. If you bring one somewhere, the other will definitely follow."

"I don't know if I should be offended or not." Derek smiled, fiddling with the Ravenclaw scarf he borrowed from Reed. Three games later and he still couldn't get used to not bringing a book with him. "We'll see you later."

"Yeah, after _Ravenclaw_ wins." Reed said then he gets hit by a rolled up Ravenclaw banner and he fell to the ground.

"I am _so_, so sorry!" Shane shouted as he ran towards them. Derek hefted Reed up and he dusted himself of dirt. "I'm really sorry, Reed!" He said again as he picked up the banner. "Julian was supposed to catch it and I guess I miss aimed and – are you okay? Bloody hell, did it hurt? I'm really sorry. Are you mad? Because –"

"_Shane!_" Reed laughed, amused by the rambling boy. "I'm fine."

Kurt gasped. "You support Ravenclaw."

Shane grinned. "Yeah, so do the twins, and Julian. You're the only one from our room who supports Slytherin, good luck with losing."

"High five!" Sofie practically jumped with excitement. Shane accepted it.

"Well, I better go; Blaine and Julian would be waiting." The group returned the wave Shane sent out before he turned around and lopped to his brother and roommate.

"In your face, Berry!" Sofie laughed.

Rachel looked at Kurt and Brittany then she nodded. The three of them crossed their arms with strange synchronization, stomped forward with their right food then raised their arms in a V formation. "Go Slytherin!" There were some cheers from the other Slytherins and Slytherin supporters as they snapped their fingers on the right hand sassily, turned on their heels and sauntered away.

Derek laughed incredulously at the scene he just witnessed. He proceeded to snap his fingers in a Z formation. "Yeah well, if we had practice, we would've had a better routine than you three did!" He shouted. They heard Brittany laugh. Some students were surprised to hear that outburst from the usually quiet Hufflepuff.

"Let's go." Sofie said brightly, hooking her arms with Reed and Derek. "We need to get good seats!" As they walked towards the stands, someone bumped into Derek's shoulder fiercely that Derek stumbled a little bit.

"Watch where you're going, Puff." Amos scowled over his shoulder and continued walking.

"What'd I ever do to him?" Derek asked.

Sofie shrugged. "I don't know, exist maybe."

"I wonder why he's doing it; he got detention after we told McGonagall." Reed commented. "Apparently that didn't work."

"We might've made it worse." Sofie added, making Reed and Derek groan. "Oh, chin up, boys! It's a happy day remember?"

* * *

><p>Quinn Fabray wasn't nervous. She wasn't nervous at all. This game would just cement her status as a seeker. It would just decide whether Ravenclaw would win the house cup or not. It would just mean that practically half of the student body was counting on her to beat Slytherin's behind. No pressure. She wasn't nervous. <em>I'm fine.<em> She thought as she gripped her _Nimbus 2002_ tightly in her hands. _I don't want to get sick all over the grass. I don't want to run back to Ravenclaw tower and pretend that I'm not seeker. I don't hear those voices chanting 'Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw' in the stands. _She sucked in a shaky breath and calmed herself down. She was Lucy Quinn Fabray, nothing could make her nervous.

"Nervous?" Julia asked.

"No." Quinn answered immediately.

Julia smiled patiently at Quinn. Six years of being keeper and two years of being captain left her with a pretty good radar for nervousness. She knew that Quinn was just trying not to psych herself out but it will end with her freaking out when they go out of the locker room (she would know, she lost her lunch on the ground during her first year as keeper). Julia knew what to do at times like this; she produced a chocolate bar from her Quidditch robes. "Here." She said to Quinn.

"What's this?" Quinn asked.

"It's _chocolate_, Fabray." Julia chuckled. "Eat, you'll feel better."

"I'm fine."

"Eat it then, for good luck." Julia smiled warmly and Quinn started to unwrap it. She turned around to address the rest of her team. "Alright! This is it! Last game of the year, and we're against Slytherin. Remember the strategies we went by –"

"Again and again and again and again." Ellery interrupted. The team laughed.

Julia rolled her eyes. "I get it, you get it. I'm glad I don't have to repeat myself."

"Like you were going to?" Justin snickered.

They were very lucky that she had the patience of a Hufflepuff. "As I was saying, I believe in you. If we stuck to what we trained, we'd beat those Slytherin arseholes to the ground!" They cheered. "Seigerson, Freidmont, don't forget to tail Fabray from time to time, especially when she's seen the Snitch. I'm sure Bancroft, Doherty, and I would make do with ourselves. You saw how Lopez and Kingston took down Holmes."

"That Gryffindor never saw it coming." Gibson said. "Poor Mitch."

"It's a miracle that Santana got away with _that_." Derek said as he tossed his bat back and forth.

"Yes, well, you two will take care of that." Julia said. "I'm going to get smushy on you lot, but you were the absolutely best team I've ever had the pleasure to captain."

"Aww, Holmstead, don't do this to me! I'm going to get snotty." Ed joked and walked towards her for a hug.

Julia laughed and pushed the beater away. "I'm serious. Thanks."

* * *

><p>"We know that Ravenclaws aren't stupid." Avery said to his team. "They'll be defending their seeker like hell. But Kingston, Lopez, try to get her down when she sees the Snitch." Santana and Nathan looked at each other and grinned mischievously.<p>

"Alright, captain, our captain." Nathan laughed.

"St. James, make sure you find that snitch before she does, alright. That _Nimbus 2002_ of hers may be a few years old but she can move when she pushes." Jesse nodded. "I want Slytherin to win this year."

"Obviously," Kristianne said, "it's your first year being captain after Coulter left; it would be a great reputation booster."

"As much as that sounded selfless, you want to win because it's your first year as keeper." Santana smirked over her shoulder.

"It's your first year as beater." Kristianne retorted.

"I know and we've been awesome so far." The two laughed.

Avery smiled at his team. He was nervous when Coulter told him that he was the new Slytherin captain. But now that they were an unstoppable force, he was fairly certain that they would win this thing.

"Will there be any more words of wisdom, Captain Prynce?" Jasper asked with a mocking smirk.

Avery rolled his eyes. "Nope, that's all I've got to say, unless you're dumb enough to forget the strategy." Jasper showed Avery his middle finger before laughing. Even though they were arses, Avery knew that they were the best team a captain could hope to have.

* * *

><p>Gwen arrived at her podium as the commentator. She breathed in the cool spring air and looked down at the students finding their seats in the lower stands. She held the microphone up to her mouth and said, "Good afternoon, teachers and students! Welcome to the championship game between Ravenclaw," she paused to let the cheers fill the pitch, "and Slytherin!" She did the same for the others. "Wonderful weather today, I'm so glad that spring's here. It's perfect for Quidditch, just so you know. Are you ready for the game to start?"<p>

"Yes!" The crowd screamed back at her and she laughed.

"I know, I know. I am too. Let's call on the Ravenclaw team!" One side cheered, the other booed. They tried to drown each other. Down below, the team was leaving the locker rooms. They looked up at the stands and they were assaulted by cheers. They smiled a little bit and mounted their brooms. "We have our chasers! Justin Bancroft, Gibson Doherty, and finally, the captain, Julia Holmstead!" They flew up into the sky and the crowd cheered. Julia was going to miss this. "It's also Ms. Holmstead's last year at Hogwarts, so she's very determined to snag a win before leaving, though she's snagged a couple already."

Julia laughed and flew by Gwen. "You're making me sound like a Slytherin!"

Gwen returned the laugh. "What? It's not like Slytherins are the only ones with ambition. And now! Their beaters, Edward Freidmont and Derek Seigerson!"

Lux cheered in the stands even though he got looks from the other Slytherins. "Woo! Go Eddie!"

"Uh… Lux…" Holly muttered as she nudged him.

"Shut up, I'm prefect, I can do whatever the fuck I want and support whoever the fuck I want." Lux turned his attention to Ed again. "Go get them!" Ed was flying by when he said this, making him blush the slightest bit.

"Now for their keeper, Ellery Coulter!" She flew up towards the Slytherin side and raspberried over all of them. "Ms. Coulter is also on her last year as keeper and her brother, the previous Slytherin captain; Vander Coulter is actually here to see her play!" Ellery almost fell off her broom at the mention of her brother. She flew up to Gwen.

"Don't shit me, Gwen!" She said.

"Watch your mouth, sis." Vander smirked behind Gwen.

"Vander! Why didn't you tell me?" Ellery asked, feeling slightly betrayed.

"I don't have to tell you everything about my life." Vander rolled his eyes. Then they started to bicker.

Gwen shook her head in disbelief. _They're actually doing that here and now? _"And finally, the seeker, Quinn Fabray!" Quinn kicked off the ground and shot into the sky with amazing speed and she let go of her broom to do a backflip in the air, making the crowd gasp. She landed safely on her broom and the Ravenclaws cheered. The Slytherins shouted, "Show off!"

"That's your Ravenclaw team! Round of applause!" After the applause, the Slytherin team opened their doors and stepped out into the sun. "Ah, here are our Slytherins!" The team waved mockingly at the Ravenclaws that were boo-ing them. "And the chasers take to the sky! Captain Avery Prynce leads them in the air, it's his first year as captain and they've beaten Hufflepuff and Gryffindor with such ease that it's kind of scary. Behind him are Penelope Tate and Jasper Lee!" The crowd cheered. "Then there are the beaters, Santana Lopez and Nathan Kingston." There was loud cheering for Santana and Nathan, probably because of their ruthless hits during the last two games. The two sat straighter on their brooms and accepted the recognition. "Keeper, Kristianne Dale!"

She flew around the three goals and raised her arms over her head. "Go Slytherin!" She earned some cheers for that.

"And now, seeker Jesse St. James! There are three new members this year for the Slytherin team, Jesse, Kristianne and Santana. They've been wicked the whole year!" Jesse grinned broadly as he flew around the stands and giving high fives to the Slytherins.

"Good luck, Jesse!" He heard Rachel say.

"Thanks!" He winked. Rachel blushed in her seat, causing Brittany and Kurt to nudge her playfully.

"Alright, enough of these pleasantries, time for the game to start, yeah?" Gwen said. "Players, to your positions!"

Madam Hooch flew in with the chest of balls in her arms. "I want a nice clean game…" She glared at them. "From _all_ of you." Santana rolled her eyes and grinned wickedly. "On my whistle." Justin and Gibson nodded at each other and Madam Hooch kicked the chest. The Bludgers and the Snitch flew out of the chest. The Snitch flew near Jesse's reach and he clutched his broom, wanting to grab the golden ball so badly. Then it flew away into the sky's abyss. "Three, two, one…"

"The Quaffle is released," Gwen announced as the ball flew into the air and the whistle blew. Justin accelerated, so did Avery. Justin punched it towards the left, Gibson caught it. "And the game begins!"

Gibson swerved from a Bludger that almost took out his broom from the side. Penelope rocketed towards him and tried to knock the ball out of his hands and to Jasper's waiting arms below. But Gibson rolled in the air, earning a gasp from the crowd. Penelope swore and whirled around. He was nearing the post. Kristianne glared at him with focus. He faked a left throw, making her move to the left and he threw it to the right post. It was a sure shot but Kristianne got there in time and caught the Quaffle nimbly. She smiled at Gibson, who just glared. She passed the Quaffle to Jasper and he flew towards Ravenclaw's posts. He evaded the Bludgers Edward and Derek aimed at him. He dived towards the ground just in time before Justin and Julia squashed him in the middle. He made a signal to Penelope and Avery. "Lee passes to Tate, Tate passes to Lee, Lee passes to Prynce, Prynce attempts to sh – no wait, passes to Tate. Tate scores! That's ten points to Slytherin!"

Ellery huffed and dove for the Quaffle. She caught it and passed it to Justin. "I'm really sorry."

"Hey, it's still early in the game. Nothing to be sad about." Justin smiled and flew away. He ducked a Bludger and tossed the ball towards Julia. She shot up before anyone from Slytherin caught up with her and she threw the ball down, with clear precision, to Gibson flying towards his mark. Just like they planned.

None of the Slytherins were anticipating such a wide catch but they were too late to notice, they were too busy catching up the Ravenclaw captain. By the time the Quaffle flew pass them; they were too late to turn around. Gibson caught it easily, passed it to Justin. Justin flew directly at Kristianne and full speed with no intension of stopping. She called his bluff and didn't move. She gripped her broom tightly, trying not to blink. Justin wasn't slowing down or hesitating. _Damn_. She thought and dove down. Justin flew over her and threw the Quaffle over his head. Gibson caught it easily and sent the shot to the middle post. "Wow, that was… Wow, ten points to Ravenclaw! Looks like we have two well strategized teams on our hands." Gwen fanned herself.

The game continued intensely. The keepers were doing an excellent job at blocking the goals and the chasers did a great jog stealing the Quaffle from each other. The Snitch was nowhere in sight and everyone watched intently at the game as time passed. When one team scores, one side cheered enthusiastically while the other groaned loudly. Everyone was at the edge of their seats for this championship game.

Avery had the Quaffle, he was making excellent progress across the field but Justin appeared beside him and knocked him with a shoulder. Before he could fight back, Avery was assaulted by another attack on his right, coming from Julia. "Having fun, Prynce?"

"Absolutely, Holmstead." Avery lost focus for a quick second and Justin punched the Quaffle to Julia's waiting hands. "Hey!"

"Sucks for you, captain!" Julia laughed and was already flying towards Slytherin's goals. She sent the Quaffle flying in a long arc towards the pitches. Jasper flew for it and just as his fingers brushed the surface, Gibson took the ball. Kristianne was anticipating _everything_ from these Ravenclaws, since their strategies varied greatly from each other except for the wide passes and long air time. Gibson threw the Quaffle upwards and Kristianne kept her eyes on it. Justin flew over it and sent a kick on top of it. It hurtled towards the ground fast but Julia intercepted it with a punch. It went into the left goal post before Kristianne could even comprehend where the Quaffle actually was. She groaned and went down to get it.

She threw it to Avery. "It's okay, we can still make do. It's hundred and forty to a hundred." She nodded and Avery flew away.

"Lopez, Kingston!" Avery bellowed and nodded to them. The beaters smirked and went their separate ways. Avery lithely maneuvered through the Bludgers and Ravenclaw's attempts to steal the Quaffle. As he neared the goals, Ellery glared at him. But her staying there, focused, wasn't part of the plan. Two Bludgers went at her from left and right, she had to fly up to keep herself alive. The Bludgers hit each other with a loud _clunk_ and Avery threw the Quaffle into an easy goal.

"That's cheating!" Ellery shouted.

"No it isn't, babe." Avery laughed and she took the ball from the air.

"I could've died, you little arse." She glared as she passed the Quaffle to Julia.

"All's fair in love and Quidditch." He said and turned around. "Oh and I knew you weren't stupid enough to stay in the same place." Then he flew away. Ellery groaned in frustration and kicked a post.

"Sorry about almost killing you, love." Nathan said with a mock smile and flew pass. Santana just laughed and followed Nathan.

"You know the spell." Ellery muttered to herself. "No, there are too many witnesses."

Gibson smiled at her. "Calm down, Ell." She just dismissed it with a wave of her hand. He shrugged and flew towards his next point of the strategy. Julia threw the Quaffle to Justin but Penelope caught it in the air, earning cheers from the Slytherins and groans from the Ravenclaws. The strategy was gone and Gibson flew towards Penelope. But before he got to her, she threw the Quaffle at one of the tower stands and it rebounded downward. Julia made a dive for it but Jasper took it and threw it lower still to Avery. He swung up and threw the ball towards one of the goal posts as Santana shot another Bludger to Ellery.

Ellery evaded this one and caught the Quaffle easily. Justin nodded at her and Ellery threw the ball far into the air. Before Jasper or Penelope could catch it, Gibson kicked the ball towards Slytherin's side. Julia caught it and threw it to one of the posts. Kristianne hit back with a swing of her broom and the Quaffle flew down to Avery's hands. "Nice save from Dale! Prynce is in possession, passes it Tate." Penelope flew upwards, dodging a Bludger Derek swung at her. Gibson bumped her broom suddenly and he grabbed the Quaffle from her arms.

"Hey!" She shouted.

"See ya!" Gibson laughed and turned back to Slytherin's posts and shot the ball into the left post, Kristianne missed the save by mere seconds. "Goal for Raven –"

"GET THAT SNITCH, QUINN!" A crowd of voices interrupted Gwen's voice and she swivelled around to Quinn, who was flying into the air, following something glinting into the sunlight.

Sofie breathed in deeply, so did Reed and Derek. They've never screamed that loud in all their lives. "Go Quinn! Go Quinn!" They chanted. But Quinn was focused on the fluttering ball in the sky.

"Fabray has spotted the Snitch! St. James is in pursuit!" Gwen announced. The students craned their necks to get a better view. Ed and Derek dropped their spots and followed after Quinn. Santana and Nathan did the same.

"I guess it's just us six for this part of the game then." Penelope smirked at Justin and she threw the Quaffle over his head and to Avery.

Gwen was torn between the Snitch and the Quaffle. She could hardly do anything at the same time "Fabray dives and narrowly misses the Snitch! Seigerson deflected a Bludger that threatened Fabray. Oh – and he's giving Lopez a rude gesture. That's lovely. Argh! Coulter blocked another shot from Slytherin. The Quaffle is passed to Fab – I mean Bancroft." She was getting the slightest bit confused but she was powering through. "Oh, never mind the Snitch," She groaned into the microphone and turned to Vander. "Coulter, watch them for me, please. Tap me if there is some development with the Snitch." Vander complied readily and leaned on his elbows to look at the seekers and the beaters battling it out. Gwen focused on the commentary for the chasers.

Quinn dove down near the grass and steadily flew closer and closer to the Snitch. Jesse was right behind her and was gaining fast. Ed deflected a Bludger from Nathan and the Slytherin swore loudly. "Go get it, Quinn!" Ed shouted. She smiled and threw her arm forward, reaching for it. Then Jesse bumped her to the left and reached for it himself. She bumped back, the two glared at each other but then they turned their attention to the Snitch. A second longer and they would've lost it. They flew upwards. They passed Julia and Avery fighting for the Quaffle. They flew pass a Bludger that would've thrown them off their brooms if they came a moment later. The Snitch flew higher and higher, Quinn and Jesse followed it with determination. The beaters hung back, the Bludgers didn't go that high anymore. It was just the three of them, the Snitch, Jesse, and Quinn.

"Getting tired, Fabray?" Jesse chuckled, they were flying vertically.

"You wish, St. James." She snarled.

Suddenly the Snitch twisted in the air and started diving. "Damn Snitch!" Jesse said. That short delay was enough for Quinn to take the lead. Jesse shot down and followed her.

"Oh, my God." Gwen said when she saw the seekers diving down to the ground, the Snitch leading them. Quinn and Jesse reached for it. Everything seemed to move slowly. The spectators were holding their breath. A Bludger brushed the two seekers' Quidditch robes. The beaters were heading towards their seekers. Penelope shot the Quaffle towards a goal post.

Derek hit a Bludger, hoping it would hit Jesse. Santana swooped in to intercept. The Quaffle was saved by Ellery. Someone screamed. Santana hit the Bludger away from Jesse but she ended up crashing into the two seekers. Both were knocked away but that was the push Jesse needed and he closed his fingers around the Snitch.

"Jesse St. James has caught the Snitch! Slytherin wins!" Gwen shouted in to the microphone. She closed her hand over it and said. "Damn, I was rooting for Ravenclaw." The Ravenclaws deflated and slumped into their chairs. The Slytherins roared with applause. Jesse opened his hands and held the Snitch over his head with pride. His teammates crowded him. The two teams exchanged pleasantries.

"Sorry for making you lose." Quinn muttered as she flew beside Julia.

"Oh Quinn." Julia sighed. "I'm a bit disappointed we lost but we didn't give up without a fight." This earned a smile from the seeker. "Get them back next year, okay?" Quinn nodded.

"Nice match, Holmstead." Avery said and shook Julia's hand. "I'm sorry we had to take away your thunder on your last year."

"Whatever, they're going to kick your arse next year, I promise you." She smirked.

"Looking forward to it." He returned the smirk and nodded at Quinn. She managed to smile tightly before flying down to the ground. On the other side of the pitch, Jesse was being carried by crazed Slytherins and their supporters. When she looked up, she found that there were a group of Ravenclaws and their supporters.

"Quinn! You were awesome!" Sofie elbowed her way through the crowd and hugged her cousin. "If only that stupid Santana didn't crash into you two."

She smiled. "Thanks, Sofie."

The rest of the team landed beside Quinn and they were greeted by some warm advice and consolation hugs. They shared the highlights of Ravenclaw from the match. Julia was feeling rather proud of the strategies she came up with. Derek and Ed were being praised by some of the boys and girls were fauning over them (too bad for the ones who liked Ed, he had his sights for someone else, a Slytherin who was smirking at him at the edge of the crowd). Justin and Gibson had their fair share of admirers and they were told about how awesome their aim was. Ellery hugged her friends tightly; they told her that she did a great job defending the goals. They might've lost but at least they had their friends for comfort.

* * *

><p>After the match and the crowding with the teams, students far and wide came together. Whether it was to pay the bets or to rub it in their face, the Great Hall had a very noisy dinner that night, especially at the Slytherin table.<p>

Slytherin was celebrating, they were leading in the running for the House Cup and they won the Quidditch final. Everyone was in a good mood; even Santana was being nice to Rachel. It was quite an experience.

"Party at the dungeons!" Someone shouted when dinner was done and the whole house cheered as they practically danced out the Hall. Rachel hung back to talk to her friends.

"I'm not going to rub it in your face anymore." She said pointedly as she neared the other five. They stood beside the entrance, out of the other students' way. "It was a pretty intense match, yeah?"

"Oh yes!" Brittany said. "I was holding my breath for so long, I couldn't breathe!" Derek and Kurt bit down their laughter. Sofie, however, laughed and hugged Brittany tightly. Rachel let a giggle escape. "What?"

"Nothing, you're just funny." Rachel said, poking Brittany's nose.

She smiled. "Thanks."

"I wish we could've recorded the match! I'd like to watch it again." Sofie sighed. "That would be too lovely."

"One day, mates. One day that'll happen for us." Reed grinned. "Slytherin was rather loud tonight."

"I guess they have every right to be, anyway." Sofie smiled tiredly. "It's a bit of a bummer, especially since you're leading for the House Cup and the exams start next week." Rachel squeezed Sofie's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"At least Ravenclaw put up a good fight." Rachel said.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Berry! Are you going to the dungeons or what?" Santana called from down the corridor.

"Coming!" She turned to her friends. "You don't mind, do you?"

They shook their heads. "Go ahead, have fun with your house." Kurt smiled warmly. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." She affirmed.

"Berry!" Santana called again with a laugh.

"She's being really nice to me right now, I don't know why. I wish we won every time, she's never this pleasant to me." Rachel laughed and waved goodbye to her friends. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

"Don't party too hard!" Brittany called.

"Don't drink the Firewhiskey!" Sofie added, making Rachel laugh over her shoulder. Then it was just the five of them lingering beside the Great Hall.

"I reckon I better go too," Kurt sighed. "There's a few Herbology notes that I would like to see before the exam on Tuesday."

Brittany gasped and slapped a hand on her forehead. "Oh bugger! That Transfiguration exam! Derek, c'mon, you promised to teach me." She started tugging on Derek's shirt and he just smiled and went along with her. "See you tomorrow! You've got to help me with History and Potions as well!" Derek was pulled away by Brittany and they ran to the kitchens.

"Shall we?" Kurt offered his arm.

Sofie grinned and ruffled his hair. "We shall." She hooked her arms around Kurt and Reed's and they walked to their towers, merrily discussing the end of the year exams.

* * *

><p>The fifth years had their O.W.L.'s, the seventh years had their N.E.W.T.'s, and the first years had their first wizarding exams <em>ever<em>. Though it was more gruelling for the fifth and seventh years (especially the seventh years, because they aren't called Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests for nothing), the first years feeling very anxious about the exams. They wondered from time to time while they were studying for Potions or Transfiguration, if they failed, would Hogwarts kick them out? What a dilemma. What if they weren't magical enough to perform the spells? What if they had somehow turned into a squib at the end of the year? They would be reassured, of course, by the older years, but one can't help but feel anxious about their first time taking a wizarding exam. Herbology and History were harmless enough, they were mostly written but the other subjects required practical tests.

Sunday and Monday had students looking left and right for any spells that were being practiced. The library was full to its capacity with students studying wildly. The common rooms were never safe since more students practiced there.

Gryffindor was all over the place, couches were turned over, paintings hung haphazardly and their occupants ran away from their portraits to safer ones. Almost every available surface in the room was scorched, harmed, or charmed. Kurt had locked himself in his room to focus, all of his roommates were outside getting tutored for their Defense Against the Dark Arts, he, on the other hand, was practicing the Locking Charm as well as a simple trip jinx, hence the locked door. If someone were to try to come in, both of his spells would intercept that person (hopefully one of the twins, in Kurt's opinion). And while he waited for that time, he cracked open his Potions book and airily practiced with imaginary ingredients and an imaginary cauldron.

There was a knock on the door and he looked up. "Who is it?"

"Open the bloody door, Hummel!" Julian shouted from the other side.

"Practice your spells." Kurt sang, earning a disgruntled groan from Julian.

"_Alohamora!_" The door unlocked quickly and it swung open. "What are you –" He tripped.

Kurt laughed. "Wonderful, my trip jinx worked."

"I hate you."

* * *

><p>Reed watched as the older years conjured up beautiful spells from their wands in the common room. So far, Ravenclaw remained the cleanest common room. Everything was clean cut and almost perfect. The older years seemed content with their spells but that didn't stop them from practicing some more. The younger ones were sitting in the reading nook in the common room; thankfully the place was virtually quiet save incantations and discussions about spells and potions. Reed buried his face into a Herbology book trying to focus on it. He was fretting over the Potions exam because he might do something to catastrophically ruin his potion (and it will explode, everyone knew that would happen), so he distracted himself with another subject. Sofie had made her History book a pillow for the time being, having actually bored herself to sleep. Reed looked over to her and poked her side.<p>

"Sofie, wake up, I don't want you to fail." He said.

She groggily lifted her head and rubbed her eyes. "I didn't know I fell asleep…" Reed laughed.

* * *

><p>Sunlight seeped through the high window sills of Hufflepuff house, Derek sat in one of the pools. It was such a perfect day to read and he read <em>The Mist<em> by Stephen King, because if he read it in the safety of his room, he will be obviously attacked by the malevolent creatures in the book. He did study earlier, of course, but now all he could think about was finishing the book. Hufflepuff house was rowdy with students doing spells. Some of the first years have taken to breaking a lot of objects just so they can practice the Mending Spell, unfortunately, only a few of them have actually managed to mend something. A group of fourth years were trying to tutor them. There would be spells fired from left to right, everyone was running around, or at least moving, Derek was the only inactive being in the common room. There were a lot of students being knocked down among the sixth years, since they were practicing non-verbal spells. Brittany was with her roommates, as well as some other first years, she was teaching them the coverage of Charms. She usually asked for help for the other subjects but Charms was where she wasn't stupid. At some point, she showed them how to mend something properly. Though the room was at siege, everyone was doing well with their spells, it's just the execution could use a little polishing. A fine example of that was the Severing Charm Blaine was practicing missed the piece of paper he was holding up and ended up severing Derek's book.

Derek's eyes bulged; his book was torn in half. "Wha – Bloody _hell_!" The outburst caused half the house to look at Derek with surprise.

"I'm really, _really_ sorry, Derek. It was an accident." Blaine said as Derek looked at both halves of his book.

He sucked in a breath and put the book down. "It's… It's fine, Blaine. _Reparo_." He said calmly and the book immediately put itself together. "Just be careful next time, please." Blaine nodded and Derek picked up the book again to continue where he left off.

* * *

><p>Slytherin wasn't calm like Ravenclaw, far from it. Everyone was on edge. Everyone was screaming at each other. They were screaming because of the screaming, they needed quiet to study. They were screaming because they got the spell wrong. They were screaming because someone else got the spell wrong. Santana started shouting Spanish at her classmates because they couldn't disarm her. It wasn't healthy looking but they got through it. If someone needed help, someone would help and they'd try to make it perfect. Anything short of it, they get frustrated. Aside from the black sheep of the house, everyone was determined to pass those exams with flying colors. Rachel cupped her hands over her ears as she tried to study for her Transfiguration exam. It was very hard to focus with the loud voices and loud crashes from the common room. Her door swung open with Stella, Lauren, and Mercedes arguing.<p>

"I'm telling you, you're saying it wrong. It's _reparo_ not _repairo._" Stella said angrily.

"Says the girl who can't differentiate Flobberworm Mucus and Horklump Juice." Lauren sneered. "Seriously, how stupid are you?"

"Well at least I know how to _speak_." Stella shot back.

"I speak perfectly fine!"

"Shut it! I'm getting a headache with you two!" Mercedes rubbed her temples. "Just take each other's advice and be done with it. Lauren, you pronounce it differently. Stella, crack open a Potions book. I need to nap."

"Good luck with that with the screaming outside." Stella sighed. As if to make emphasis, something made a loud thud from outside.

"I'll try." Mercedes murmured and jumped into her bed.

"Please shut the door." Rachel groaned. "It's quieter that way.

Sleep was welcomed that Monday before the exams start the next day. Apart from those seventh years that were too nervous to even sleep – seriously, it was their future they were testing for – everyone fell into a quick slumber as soon as their weary bodies hit their bed. Hogwarts went quiet that night. No one was sneaking out (except to the library). There were no late night excursions. No quick meet-ups between friends (and lovers). It was like they were getting ready for the torture the next day was bringing to them.

* * *

><p>"I wish you all the best of luck for the coming exams today." Professor McGonagall said at the end of breakfast. "All of you have done such great work this year and I have full confidence that you will have good grades at the end of the day. Do not doubt yourself, trust your instincts, it will help you along the way." She offered them a smile and started to wave them away. "I will see you again later. Good luck."<p>

Students started filing out of the Great Hall. But Derek and Brittany hung back so they could talk to their friends for a bit before their first exams. There were only a handful of students left in the Hall and they would be forced out in a few minutes so that the teachers could prepare the Hall for the tests.

"Hi!" Brittany said brightly when they reached the Slytherin table. "Is everyone ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Kurt sighed. The others just nodded.

"Well, I'm well rested." Sofie stretched a little bit. "Bring on History." Even if she told that to herself the whole morning, she still couldn't shake the feeling that she didn't study enough.

Reed was fidgeting a little bit with his hands. "I feel like I'm going to kill someone in Potions." He looked up to his friends with scared brown eyes. "I don't want to kill anyone! There's just… There's just so _much_ that can go wrong!" Then he looked pointedly at Brittany, Sofie, and Derek. "Do _not_ sit beside me when we're taking the exam, I'm begging you!" The three stood there in shock, none of them knew what exactly they should do.

"Reed!" Kurt grabbed the curly headed boy by the shoulders and spun him around to face him. "Breathe!" Reed complied. "There. You are not going to _kill_ anyone, yeah?"

Reed nodded. "Yeah – I mean – you're right… You're right! I'm just being hysterical."

"We can't have a jittery Reed around." Kurt smiled and straightened Reed's tie. "You're clumsy enough as it is."

"Plus, you're one of the best in the whole year; I don't think you have anything to worry about." Sofie added with a nudge to Reed's side.

"Students, please leave the hall so that we may prepare." Professor Flitwick announced and the handful of students started leaving the Hall.

"Okay, how about we talk about the positive sides of things, hm?" Rachel suggested. "I'm really excited for my Astronomy exam tonight. It's a piece of pie!"

"Easy for you to say." Brittany griped. "I'm having a lot of trouble memorizing all of those constellations and planets… But at least I'm sure that I'm going to get amazing grades for my Charms test!"

Sofie sighed and thought of a test she was actually excited for. Derek turned to her and chuckled. "Don't strain yourself."

She scoffed and hit the back of his head. "Sod off, Breaker."

Brittany gasped. "Sod is a bad word."

"Whatever, anyway I may not be the smartest Ravenclaw but… I guess I'm excited for Potions." She said finally. "Yes, that's right, Potions."

"Good for you, then." Reed mumbled as they passed the Hall's threshold. "Transfiguration is okay, I guess. Pretty harmless unless my wand slips."

They stopped in the deserted corridor and just realized that they talked to each other too much. "I guess we better go our separate ways then." Rachel sighed then moved towards Sofie and Reed. "C'mon, let's get to the greenhouses."

"We'll see you later!" Sofie waved. Brittany, Derek, and Kurt waved back.

Derek sighed. "The History test beckons." Brittany groaned.

* * *

><p>Time comes and goes as it always does, painfully slow while taking it and then ludicrously fast while on a break. That's something all of them noticed right after their first tests. Brittany tried very hard not to fall asleep during History, and that was a seriously hard thing to do on its own. Derek and Kurt did pretty well on the exam and keeping Brittany awake when they noticed her nodding off at questions ten, twelve, thirty one, and fifty, as well as the first essay question. Those on the Herbology front had no trouble answering the questions, since it was one the easiest subjects either of the three had ever encountered. Then again, it was just all about plants, not dealing with them. As the morning passed, drowsiness caught on, especially to Derek and Sofie who wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and sleep but they had to push through. At least it was easier when they reached Transfiguration and Charms. All they had to do was charm a pineapple to dance off the table. Brittany, Sofie, and Reed did an excellent job with their pineapples. It was like they choreographed something special just for Professor Flitwick. Rachel's accidentally started singing the first few seconds before it started to dance. Then for Transfiguration they had to turn mice into snuffboxes. Since Brittany didn't have any idea what a snuffbox is, she turned her mouse into a little pencil case. Derek unfortunately had a hyperactive mouse. It was half turned into a snuffbox before it scurried away. He tried desperately to finish what he had created, and he did, after scorching his desk with a misplaced spell. At the end, Kurt's was by far the prettiest little snuffbox anyone's ever seen, even though there were still whiskers on it. Some of the boys' eyebrows rose when they saw the end product but none of them said anything about it.<p>

Finally it was time for Potions. It was the last exam that day except for Astronomy, which was starting at midnight. Reed's been shaking the slightest bit as they stood in front of the Potions room. There was the regular chatter, mostly about the tests they had to endure that day. Sofie and Brittany joined in conversations like that while Derek just stood there wringing his fingers, trying to remember every potion they've made.

"Nervous?" Derek asked.

Reed turned to his friend. "Yes."

"Me too."

"Derek, if I kill you –"

"Enough of that, you won't kill me, yeah?"

Reed barely nodded before Professor Slughorn opened the door. "Students, you may enter."

"You'll do excellently, I know you would." Derek offered a friendly smile and went in. They reached their seats quietly and Professor Slughorn cleared his throat when they've all settled down.

"Now, you will be making a simple Forgetfulness Potion today," half of the room sighed, "but here's the catch." The Potions teacher grinned. "You will be under time pressure. You will have to finish the potion in twenty five minutes." The students voiced their shock to the others near them, while Reed just blanched.

Time pressure meant rushing. Rushing meant moving fast. Moving fast meant disaster, in Reed's case. _Where's a calming potion or spell when you need one?_ He groaned internally.

"Yes well, I know that _may_ seem difficult, but the best wizards and witches can brew a potion in the hardest of times. Better to start young, eh?" Professor Slughorn chuckled and flicked his wand towards the board and the instructions appeared. "No talking until the end of the test. You may begin in three…" Derek, Sofie, and Brittany glanced at Reed. "two…" He gulped and mouthed that he will be fine. "one…" The ingredients appeared in front of them. It took half the students a second before they started while the other half began as soon as the ingredients appeared.

"Slower is faster." Reed muttered to himself, not fully believing in it. He started at the clock, thirty seconds gone. _Snap out of it, Van Kamp._ He grabbed the Lethe River Water and he started shaking. His friends pursed their lips, wanting to help, but they couldn't since that would be considered cheating. The only other person who wasn't from their little group, Jude, moved subtly away from the clumsy boy with the cauldron.

Reed sighed and gripped the flask. He gingerly put in two drops of the Lethe River Water into the cauldron and took out his wand to light the flame. "_Incendio_." He whispered and he half expected it to burst into flames but there was a very modest glob of fire under his cauldron. The table sighed, Reed looked up to see his friends looking away. He faced the clock to check the seconds.

After heating, Reed grabbed two Valerian Sprigs and tossed it carefully into the cauldron. He tried to grab the ladle for the stirring part but it clattered noisily to the floor. "Bugger." He muttered and jumped off his stool to get it from the floor, banging his head on the table in the process. While rubbing his head, he put the ladle into the cauldron and stirred three times before casting another fire spell.

The accident happened when Reed carelessly pointed the wand and said the incantation. The flame erupted too violently and cauldron was momentarily engulfed by flames. It threw him over his stool and he fell on the floor. It took the joint effort of Derek and Sofie to calm the flames down; Jude picked Reed up from the floor.

"You okay, mate?" He asked.

"I just hope that doesn't jeopardize my potion." Reed sighed. "Thanks."

"No problem." The students went back to work and so did Reed. He looked into the cauldron and watched as the concoction bubbled like it's supposed to after ten minutes of medium heating. _Well, on the bright side, I don't have to wait ten minutes for it to brew. _

Reed took two pinches of the Standard Ingredient and four Mistletoe Berries into the mortar and crushed it into medium fine powder. He looked into the cauldron again and the potion was still bubbling, so he waited for that to subside a little bit before taking a pinch from the mortar and letting it fall into the cauldron. It went in with a puff of smoke at its wake. _I hope that's normal._ He took other pinch and into the cauldron it went. He held the ladle, it was warm to the touch, and then he stirred it five times, anti-clockwise.

Luckily, green fumes weren't spewing from the cauldron, though the color wasn't as dark blue as the board said so, but it was better than nothing. At least it was over and he funnelled some of the potion into a vial. Professor Slughorn smiled at him when he approached the desk. He was the first one to get there. "Are you alright, m'boy? You gave us quite a scare there a few minutes ago."

"I'm fine." Reed smiled slightly and placed the vial on the professor's desk. "May I go?"

"Yes, you may. And might I suggest that you see Madam Pomfrey about that nasty bump you have on your forehead." Reed's hand unconsciously touched the bump, he winced and walked towards the table he was at and took his things. He waved goodbye to the others and reached over to ease Brittany's hand upward, preventing an extra Mistletoe Berry to fall into her mortar.

Reed walked out of the dungeons and into the fresh air. He found Rachel and Kurt sitting under a tree while he was going to the Hospital Wing. He walked towards them and they smiled.

"You're alive!" Rachel joked.

"Yeah, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Reed said. "But I did almost set fire to the Potions room and I got a bump the size of Hagrid."

"See, _bright side_!" Kurt smiled.

"Let's get you to the Hospital Wing then." Rachel put her arm around Reed's. "Madam Pomfrey will have a fit when she sees you again."

"Oh, it's you." Kurt said in a mocking voice. The two laughed. "Honestly, Mr. Van Kamp, what can we do to you?"

Reed chuckled. "A coordination potion would be nice."

"One day, Reed, I will seriously make you one." Kurt promised.

"Yeah, when pigs fly."

"I thought they did." Rachel looked confused.

"Well there you go!" Kurt laughed and they walked to the Hospital Wing.

* * *

><p>It's funny how a school year could pass in the blink of an eye even though it started like there wasn't an end to the (ridiculously enjoyable) tunnel. But after the long day of exams and an end of term feast, they were faced with the task of packing their trunks and getting ready to go home. It's like so many things happened and it felt like it all happened in one day. But at least they would be coming back after summer (except for some sixth years and most of the seventh years).<p>

Sofie took a photo with her roommates, Alice and Regine before leaving her trunk in the common room for pick up. She walked out of Ravenclaw and to the stairs where Kurt and Reed were waiting with their owls in their cages. She took a picture of them just as the twins jumped into frame. "Get off of me!" Kurt yelled. Sofie took another picture.

"Oh, come now, Kurt –"

"Don't act like you won't miss us."

"No acting is involved." Kurt said, rolling his eyes. The twins grinned at him and gave him a quick hug (they gave Reed one too, even though they hardly knew each other) before turning to Sofie.

"Nice camera." Evan said before he and Ethan went down the stairs. "Have a nice summer!" They called.

"They're nice." Sofie concluded after Kurt fixed an imaginary flaw in his hair.

He laughed at her statement. "_You_ try rooming with them then."

* * *

><p>Rachel, and a good number of Slytherins, looked up at the big silver House Cup on the Slytherin's mantle. They had won that year, most probably because of their sensational Quidditch win against Ravenclaw. They were very ecstatic at the prospect of winning the Cup and they rubbed it into the other houses' faces just a tad. Sydney and Lux, the prefects, had a funny speech ready for the occasion (since it was their first year as prefects). It was short because Sydney knew that they would get bored easily. They had another party afterwards.<p>

Now that it was the last several at Hogwarts before summer break, Rachel just wanted to touch it one more time, knowing that she had done something to contribute to its win. Then she remembered that Brittany and Derek would be waiting for her at the dungeon stairs at the moment, so she left quickly after hugging Stella and Mercedes, as well as picking up her cat, Ellyse. The cat purred in her arms.

"Rachel, wait!" Jesse ran to catch up with her just before she left the house.

"Hi, Jesse." She smiled as they exited Slytherin. "Any plans this summer?"

"My parents and I are going to Scotland to visit some family." He said. "Aside from that, I have no idea what I'm doing over the summer. And you?"

"I think my dads said something about going to Rome, but I'm not entirely sure about that." She shrugged and they turned to the stairs.

"That's nice; I hope you get to go. Rome is a beautiful place." He grinned and handed her a piece of parchment. "That's my address, write to me this summer."

She blushed a little bit. "All right." They went away in opposite directions. Derek and Brittany smiled at her as she walked up.

"Hello, Rach! And _hello_ Ellyse, Lord Tubbington missed you!" Brittany said. Lord Tubbington and Alec pawed at Ellyse who just meowed at them. Then Brittany grabbed Rachel's hand. "I think Kurt, Sofie, and Reed are already at the entrance! We better hurry if we want a carriage to ourselves." Brittany led the three in a brisk walk.

"Brit, I don't think we'll lose any carriages, I'm sure they have plenty." Rachel said.

"Well, if we're one of the last to get to the train, we'd have _loads_ of trouble finding a compartment! We have to get to the carriages early for that!"

"…That's very smart of you." Rachel was genuinely the slightest bit surprised, even Derek's eyebrows rose at Brittany's sudden logic.

"Thanks!" Brittany smiled over her shoulder as they reached the entrance. "There they are! Reed! Sofie! Kurt!" The three turned around and Sofie snapped a picture. "Are the carriages here yet?"

"Not yet, but I can see them coming up from the distance." Reed said. "Do you reckon we can snag the first one?"

"Not if I can't help it." Brittany said proudly, moving forward. Kurt and Sofie laughed. "Don't laugh, I'm serious." She said but then she couldn't help a giggle. Rachel repeated Brittany's statement earlier about the whole carriage-train situation. They were still shocked with their friend's sudden burst of insight. Just when they couldn't be more surprised, Brittany had jumped the first carriage before anyone else could. "C'mon!" She called and Lord Tubbington's head popped up right beside her and he meowed.

"Let's go then." Sofie said happily and took Brittany's picture on the carriage. The five of them jumped into the carriage with Brittany and it started moving once they were settled down. They looked back at Hogwarts. Their cats and owls were coexisting quite well in the carriage, except for that one moment that Lord Tubbington attacked small Erik. He's been hooting in fear in his cage ever since. Reed's tried everything to calm him down until he gave up. Erik was still hooting time to time but they figured that he was just tired.

"What a year, huh?" Derek commented.

"Quite." Rachel said. "Don't forget to write me, okay?"

"I will! My parents did say they were getting us an owl." Sofie grinned. "I'll be sending the pictures in a week, probably."

"I'll miss you all _dearly_!" Brittany bounced.

"We'll miss you too, Brit." Kurt said, giving her a quick side hug. "Did you think it went too fast? The term, I mean."

"From this point of view," Sofie sighed, "yes. But it was a rather wonderful few months, don't you think?"

"Absobloodylutely!" Brittany exclaimed, making them laugh a little bit.

"And I couldn't think of anyone else to spend it with." Reed grinned.

"Aww! Isn't he sweet?" Derek laughed and tackled his friend into a tight hug. Rachel joined in after a second with a laugh.

The six friends promised each other, as they passed the forested area right before the train appeared that they would write as much as they could.

Sofie took out a flower from a nearby tree and made it fly around the carriage for a few seconds, the others tried to catch it. The cats joined in as well. She took pictures as they did, until she finished another roll. Incidentally, she brought her last one. "For the train ride," she said. Their laughter echoed in the forest and none of them could ask for better friends. It was almost sad that they couldn't spend their summers together but they figured that one day they would. But for now, they were just a letter away.


	2. The Year with the New History Teacher

**Important A/N:** Hello there reader. I hope you enjoy this lovely piece of fanfiction because the second chapter won't be up in... a few months. If you noticed, I'm going to do only seven chapters, one chapter per school year. It won't be easy, but I hope you stay though (please stay with me). Review and stuff. And if you have questions, I have a tumblr (musicalbookworm) or you could message me, because I'm quite pleasant and I will answer your questions. Also, if you follow me on tumblr, you would see updates on whether or not I'm writing the chapters. You could check my progress because I ramble about it being 75% done and such.

The Glee characters are from Fox and the Dalton characters (the majority of them) are from CP Coulter. The Wizarding world is property of our Queen Rowling. (Oh dear God, I hope I didn't butcher them). You'll see them again in a couple of months (I've started writing year 2 and I'm currently stuck, I'm losing my mind). Also, it's crossover because it's Hogwarts and Glee. It's (I think) a technicality.

Love lots!

* * *

><p><em>Dear Derek, <em>

_I know how much you love your books, so I sent you this one. Le Petit Prince. I hope you don't mind that it's in French._

_XOXO,_

_Sofie_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Rachel,<em>

_You're going to Rome? That's brilliant! At least you're going out of the country this year. We're staying put the whole summer. If I didn't have Derek, I don't know what I'd do!_

_Your Friend,_

_Reed_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Reed, <em>

_I miss your hair. I really do! I can't wait to bury my face in it. How do you keep it smelling so good?_

_Always in love with your curls,_

_Brittany_

_P.S. Lord Tubbington says hi to Erik! He promises not to attack anymore. He's into fish nowadays._

* * *

><p><em>Dear Everyone,<em>

_I'm bored out of my mind right now so I'm sending out a mass letter. My mom taught me a copy spell today and I'm using it to my advantage (plus it's good practice, don't you think?) How's everyone been? Yes Reed, I know that you're rolling your eyes now (we're meeting up this Saturday). I wish we could all meet over the summer, like spend time together. Maybe when we're older I guess. My summer's okay. Been helping out with my mum at the bookstore. Ironically, there are no new books that tickle my fancy at the moment (except Le Petit Prince. Sofie, once again, c'est magnifique!) and I am positively bored. I've resorted to reading the Daily Prophet and watching muggle networks on the telly when Dad's not home. Tragic. Little tidbit though, muggle music is quite entertaining! It's too bad electronic devices go awry near Hogwarts or I'll have half a mind to beg my parents for an iPod. Good luck with America, Kurt! Tell us what it's like! Brittany, Alec says hi to Lord Tubbington. That's all I have to report at the moment. Have a nice summer!_

_Love,_

_Derek_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sofie,<em>

_How exactly does a potato, potate? I just remembered you saying that and I've been staring at this one potato in the house for an hour. I don't get it._

_I'm confused,_

_Brittany_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Reed,<em>

_I need your advice on clothes to bring to Paris right now. I'd write to Kurt but you're closer and I need advice quickly!_

_No pressure though._

_XOXO,_

_Sofie_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Derek,<em>

_Send me some books, I beg of you._

_Love, _

_Kurt_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sofie, <em>

_I hope you're enjoying your stay in Paris! Don't forget to bring souvenirs! It's too bad we can't see each other. Rome and Paris are apparently too far away._

_Love, _

_Rachel _

* * *

><p><em>Dear Derek, <em>

_Lord Tubbington misses Alec! I miss you too, of course. I've got a lot of pictures of you though, so it's okay. Can't wait to see you in a few days! And before I forget, Lord Tubbington wants a picture of Alec like the one I sent you in this letter. Our cats don't have a lot of pictures do they? _

_Keep smiling!_

_Brittany_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Kurt, <em>

_I miss you SO much right now. Derek doesn't like to dress like we do and I'm feeling a little deprived. Derek just read that over my shoulder and he just rolled his eyes. He's getting that from you and I blame you, I really do. Back to the point, I miss you. Derek doesn't know any of the muggle designers (and __he's__ the half-blood) and I'm itching to talk about them. What do you think of the new Dior? Please, PLEASE reply soon._

_Your friend, _

_Reed_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Derek,<em>

_How has your summer been? I'm sorry I wasn't able to write often. My family just insists on spending time together. It's a good thing Finn's suffering with me. I miss you, along with everyone else. I miss Hogwarts too. I can't wait to be back. America is such a strange place. Dad really wanted to visit though. Something about a muggle sport he enjoys. Foot something. It's completely barbaric. Anyway, we're still going to meet in Diagon Alley a couple of weeks before term starts right? I've got an outfit planned and everything!_

_Yours truly,_

_Kurt_

_P.S. I'm sorry in advance for my owl. She crashed didn't he? She'll be fine. She'll wake up in a few minutes. Don't fret. _

* * *

><p><em>Dear Rachel,<em>

_I miss you and your voice. Sing to me when we meet okay? Lord Tubbington also wants a picture of Ellyse. Just like I did with Derek, I sent you a picture of him. He wants one back. I think our cats hang out while we're at class. They have their own cat club. Isn't that cute?_

_Sinceerly,_

_Brittany_

_P.S. Did I spell that right?_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Kurt,<em>

_Sorry for the late reply. It took some time for us to find an owl. Yours apparently had a lot of letters to deliver. _

_Just one more year! We're going to take over that choir. It'll be spectacular. I hear there's an upcoming wizarding school choir competition and this year, our choir will be joining (without us though, darn talent pool!) It'll be held at this school called Cavvan Wizarding Institution in Germany. I've been counting the moments until we sing together again!_

_Love, _

_Rachel _

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sofie,<em>

_How are you my friend? Are you going to Diagon Alley with us? I haven't written to you in a while so I don't know. I'm sending a lot of letters out because I feel horrible for not talking to you guys for a __whole week! __Can you believe that? A whole week! _

_I'm missing you all too much,_

_Brittany_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Kurt,<em>

_I am absolutely exhausted right now. I'm being apparated by my family left and right. I don't know how much more I can take of this vacation. They must seem to want to see everything in Paris. Don't get me wrong, I adore Paris but we're just popping in and out through it! I never did enjoy the sensation of apparition. Luckily, we're taking a breather tonight and we're just __walking__ to the Eiffel Tower. Can't wait to see you soon!_

_XOXO,_

_Sofie_

_P.S. I can't even enjoy the French boys!_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Brittany, <em>

_I would love to sing to you when we meet! After all, I'm always ready for a performance. As you requested, I sent you a picture of Ellyse for Lord Tubbington. I hope he likes it._

_Love,_

_Rachel _

_P.S. It's sincerely, but you were close!_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Kurt,<em>

_My summer's been sufficiently boring. Honestly, there were hardly any new books to read! I spent time with the Van Kamps to pass the time. I think you would like it there. Mrs. Van Kamp is starting a new robe line for the fashionable witch and wizard. Neither of us was excited about it but she went on to saying that it was going to be big. I don't know if I should be worried. I miss you too. And you say everything's barbaric. Yes we're still meeting at Diagon Alley, just wrote a letter to Sofie and Rachel, I'm really looking forward to it. Also, I thought your owl died, we almost threw it out but it squirmed and flew away. It freaked my mum out._

_Love,_

_Derek_

_P.S. I swear you, Reed, and your clothes!_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Kurt,<em>

_Yes, I will give you some robes from my mother's new line. I knew you'd love the sketches. Personally, I love it too but it isn't really for me, the fashion industry, I mean. My mom just kept droning on about it the whole summer. Something about it getting big. I swear, one time she was foaming at the mouth, or maybe that was just my imagination. If this turns into a big business, I hope she doesn't expect me to take over her place when the time comes. I would like to stay painting. Anyway! Can't wait to see you soon!_

_Your friend,_

_Reed_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Kurt,<em>

_I miss you! I got your letter today and I almost cried when your owl crashed through the window. My dad nearly had a heart attack. Lord Tubbington was walking around it slowly – probably getting ready to pounce, he's not used to live (newly dead?) food. I found it strange though, he's into fish lately. I'm glad your owl is fine about the crashing._

_Can't wait to see you at Diagon Alley,_

_Brittany_

_P.S. What does P.S. mean? I've been using it a lot in letters but I have no idea what it stands for._

* * *

><p><em>Dear Everyone,<em>

_It's settled then! We're meeting at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. I'm really excited, mates! See you in two days!_

_Love,_

_Rachel _

* * *

><p>Derek and Reed were the first to arrive at Diagon Alley, thanks to the ever busy Hilde Van Kamp. Their parents gave them money for the whole day and they were allowed to roam free, provided that they stay in Diagon Alley. They stayed in the ice cream parlour they were supposed to meet and ordered a couple of snacks. Derek was looking chunkier that day and his appetite grew with him as well. He looked particularly happy when his double caramel sundae arrived. Reed settled for a modest chocolate one. They ate in peace since there were only a couple of people in the parlour.<p>

"Read any good books lately?" Reed asked.

"Eh, not much. I did dig out this book, _The Vampire Diaries_, from one of the stacks of mum's shop. It took me the whole week to look for the sequels." Derek grinned. "But it was worth it."

"I'm sure it was… Muggle writer?"

"You bet." He took a huge gob of ice cream into his mouth. "But it was a close interpretation of vampires, if you ask me. Not like _Dracula_ though, but it was good." Reed nodded. "I like what you're wearing."

"You've said thrice already." Reed chuckled. "I'm honestly thinking that we've been friends for too long and we really don't have anything to say to each other."

"But it is pretty." Derek grinned and reached over to ruffle Reed's hair. "Now be grateful."

Reed shook his head and sighed. "Thank you, Derek."

"Reed! Derek!" They turned around and Brittany was running towards them, blonde hair flying about behind her. Both of them stood up to receiving her running hug. If Derek wasn't there, Reed would've been tackled to the parlour's floor. "Oh I've missed you so much!"

"We missed you too, Brit." Reed chuckled as he patted her back and tried to push her blonde hair away from his face. Brittany pushed her head into Reed's. She missed those curls for so long; she just wanted to smell it forever. Derek was luckier to have his face free of hair. He could see Mr. and Mrs. Pierce standing a few inches behind their daughter. Brittany looked more like her mother than her father. Maybe it was the long blonde hair, her father just had short brown hair, but he did have blue eyes just like Brittany.

"Hi, uh… Mr. and Mrs. Pierce." Reed said when he finally pushed Brittany's hair out of his eyes.

"Oh dear," Mrs. Pierce said, "call me Phoebe, _please_."

"I'm Paul… Call me that too." Her father grinned.

"Sweetie, do you need anything?" Phoebe asked. "Will you be fine on your own?"

Brittany released her two friends and turned to her parents with a wide smile. "Yeah! Like I said, a couple of my friends are purebloods so they'll help me around."

Her parents shared a quick look and then they hugged her quickly. "My, my, you're growing up too fast." Paul said when he hugged her. "You two better take care of her."

"Yes sir." Reed and Derek said at almost the same time.

"We'll meet back here at five sharp, okay?" Phoebe said. She was looking a bit ambivalent. "_Okay?_" The woman was slightly hysterical, like she was on the day she watched Brittany get on the train for the first time.

"I get it, Mum, later at five." Brittany smiled. "I'll go get some ice cream now. See you soon!"

Phoebe turned to Derek and Reed when her daughter pranced to the counter. "You know how she is. She tends to… forget things."

"We know, Phoebe." Reed said politely. "We'll watch out for her."

"Good boys." She said. "I'm glad Brittany found friends like you." Paul took his wife's hand and then they left their daughter to her friends. Reed and Derek sat back down at their table just as Brittany turned up with a banana split.

"Brittany, do you know how much that costs?" Derek asked.

She nodded. "Five sickles."

"Do you have enough money for your school supplies?"

"Yeah, obviously. I wouldn't be here if I didn't." She giggled. "Silly Derek." Reed shrugged at Derek and they went back to eating their ice creams. "I wonder when Sofie, Kurt, and Rachel will be arriving. I miss them a lot too, you know."

"Oh we know." Reed smiled.

She turned to Derek. "You look a lot cuddlier than before."

"Uh… thanks." He unconsciously touched his belly before eating another scoop of the caramel sundae.

"You're like Lord Tubbington, he's getting fluffier too. Sometimes I make him a pillow… But he doesn't like it that much." She said nonchalantly. Then she looked at him with an expression that said she had an idea. "I bet _you_ wouldn't mind."

Before Derek could form a proper response to being made into a pillow, someone spoke. "Hey!" They turned around they were assaulted by a bright flash of light. "Nice picture." Sofie grinned. "Can't wait to have that developed." She sat down beside Derek and immediately thought how big he's gotten. "Did you gain weight?"

Derek looked down and smiled a little bit. "Well, I don't know. Did I, Reed?"

"Okay, we get it, you're funny." Sofie rolled her eyes and she chuckled. "No book today, I see."

"There's been a shortage."

"Really? How are you still breathing?" She joked.

"Hope and perseverance." He laughed and ate another spoonful of caramel.

Sofie picked up her camera and took three shots of her friends. "I have missed you all dearly."

"I missed you too!" Brittany exclaimed. "Oh, by the way, how was France? When did you get back?"

"It was exhausting." Sofie answered. "My parents just popped us in and out everywhere. I just wanted to walk but _noooo_. Especially Mother." She laughed. "She just wanted to get to the sites as quick as possible. And the _shopping_. My Granger it was amazing."

"Ooh, Kurt's going to get jealous." Reed joked.

"He did, I told him over one letter." She smirked. "His parchment was practically tearing in some places. I just hope he doesn't kill me today."

"Speak of the devil." Reed wiped a bit of ice cream off his face before waving his arms above his head. "Kurt! Rachel!"

The two friends were talking to Mercedes in between them. They'd bumped into each other when they entered the Leaky Cauldron. Their main topic was the books they had to buy that day, as well as Mercedes's outfit. But then they turned their attention to the group in the ice cream parlour. They waved at each other.

Mercedes smiled at the two. "Your friends call, yeah? I better go then."

"You don't _have_ to." Kurt chuckled. "They're well trained and they won't bite." Rachel laughed at that one, so did Mercedes.

"Nah, that's fine. I'm off to meet up with Tina at Gringotts anyway. She asked me to come with." Mercedes straightened Kurt's shirt then she turned to Rachel (who was wearing an offensively colourful outfit) and fixed her bonnet. "I'll see you at Hogwarts."

"See you." They said and waved her goodbye. Then they turned to walk to the parlour that their friends were sitting in.

"Hi! Been a long time." Rachel grinned and gave each one a hug.

"Seems like there's so much to catch up on, yeah?" Brittany smiled at them both as they pulled a chair and sat around the table.

Kurt chortled. "As if the letters weren't enough."

"That's different, it's ink and parchment. This is real life." Reed said.

"True." Kurt nodded and smiled at Reed. "So, how is your mother today?"

"Busy. Ever since those robe designs hit the stores, she turned into a sort of fashion star overnight!" Reed said waving his spoon around until it slipped and hit someone walking near the parlour. The six of them looked away while the man whirled around, searching for his attacker. Brittany and Derek almost laughed out loud.

"Anyway," Kurt said when the man left the vicinity, "that isn't much of a surprise, those designs were _brilliant._ Thanks for sending me two, by the way."

"You're welcome. They were too long for me." Reed said nonchalantly before getting up. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to get another spoon."

"Careful not to injure anyone while getting there." Sofie said over her shoulder. Reed stuck out his tongue but then he bumped into a chair and fell to the floor before anyone could react. He stood up again and acted as if nothing happened. The five of them couldn't help but giggle.

After their little meet-up at Florean's, they went around Diagon Alley. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking and walking from shop to shop. Everyone had to buy some of the books, because they were in the new edition that their parents couldn't hand-me-down. Brittany _had_ to buy all of them, of course. Sofie was the only exception, since one of her brothers was just a year ahead of her. She didn't mind though, the books were still decent and legible. However, she did have to buy a new edition of the History book, something that hasn't happened since Professor Binns had been teaching, which has been _ages_.

After buying the books they needed, they were tucked away safely in Rachel's bag. She asked her Daddy L to let her borrow a bag with an Undetectable Extension Charm placed on it. They would have a problem getting them back later in the afternoon.

Next they went to the Apothecary for their Potions supplies. Reed hung back when his other friends went up the steps of the store. Kurt turned around, noticing that they were missing a pair of legs. "Aren't you coming in?" He asked, making the other four turn around. Reed shook his head.

"No. I'll just wait out here." He said apologetically. "I might knock down something then it'll knock down another. It's safer here." He handed Derek his pouch of galleons. "Buy mine, yeah?"

"Sure…" Derek looked down at the pouch. "We can't just leave you here."

Before Reed could protest, the door flew open to reveal two curly headed boys. The one with the messier head grinned wildly at them. "Hi! Kurt, it's so nice to see you!"

"It's good to see you too Shane." Kurt blushed a little bit and looked at the older Anderson. "Hi there, Blaine."

Brittany gasped. "Your names _rhyme_!" Sofie and Rachel tried very hard not to burst out giggling.

Blaine's eyebrows rose and he smiled affectionately at her. "Yes, Brit, our names do rhyme." Then he turned to Kurt. "Are you going in?"

"No, we were just about to leave." Derek said offhandedly, making Shane laugh.

"I like him, he's funny." The Andersons stepped aside to make room for the five to go in. They were still looking at Reed.

"Are you sure you don't want at least one of us to stay with you?" Sofie asked.

"He's not coming in?" Shane asked as he hitched the bag of supplies higher up his arm. "Why isn't he coming in with you?"

"He's afraid he'll knock the shop down." Rachel answered with a fond smile.

"With my luck, it'll happen, you all know it." Reed chuckled. "I'll be fine here."

"I'll keep him company." Shane shrugged. "It'll be fun." The group considered it and turned to the shop, only after Sofie took a picture of the three curly headed boys.

"Shane –" Blaine began to object, wanting to remind his brother that their parents will be waiting for them.

"I'll catch up! I promise. Don't worry." His brother sighed in defeat and nodded.

"Alright, fine… I'll see you at Hogwarts, Reed." Blaine smiled cordially before turning to leave.

Shane turned to Reed with a wide smile. They weren't really close, since they lived on opposite sides of Hogwarts and their friends differed greatly (besides Kurt), but Shane seemed particularly fond of Reed. It was probably from Kurt's stories at the end of the day when he was feeling a little chatty in their dorm room. In a weird way, Shane felt like he knew Reed, then again his mind wasn't the conventional kind, so he chalked it up to crazy. He was distracted by a bird flying overhead before he looked back at Reed. "Hi, how was summer?"

"It was good… Very good." Reed returned the smile. "And yours?"

"Boring, but I lived." The taller boy joked. "I heard your mum made it big in the wizarding fashion industry."

Reed nodded. "She did. People are interviewing her left and right, I'm just glad it wasn't me, because then I would probably die of that much attention."

"You don't like attention?" Shane asked, curious, with his head turned to the side. Reed thought that this was very adorable, actually, but he wasn't going to blurt that out to the other curly top any time soon.

"No… Not really." His expression grew uncomfortable just at the mere thought of groups of people hounding him. "I mean attention is fine time to time but I don't know if I could handle a lot of it all at once."

"I reckon that's normal for some people." Shane shrugged. "I guess that means you too, since your mum's getting famous and your dad's record producer, eh?"

Reed groaned. "Don't remind me. I'm glad only a bit of Hogwarts caught on to it, now that my mum's got interviews, she'll be mentioning my dad and some of the kids at school actually _read_ the Daily Prophet so –"

"You ramble a lot, just like me." Shane couldn't help but interrupt.

"Thanks...?" Reed chuckled, so did Shane. "Don't you have to go with your family? I can't keep you here until my friends get out."

"Nah, it's fine. I didn't want to go yet anyway. Diagon Alley is one of my favourite places. They were going to buy us ice cream. Blaine knows what I like; he'll get it for me."

Their conversation went nowhere and everywhere while they wait for the others to come out of the shop. Shane did most of the talking because that's what he always does. Reed didn't mind of course. When you're friends with Rachel Berry you kind of learn to stop talking at times. Usually, when it's your turn to speak, these excessive talkers have a way of looking at you as a signal. Shane's was much friendlier than Rachel, since she thinks that you aren't listening to her. They turned into pretty decent acquaintances at the end when Reed's friends came out.

"Well," Shane rocked on the balls of his feet before ruffling Reed's hair to which he shied away from the taller boy, but he still laughed a bit. "I guess it's time for me to go. I'll see you all at Hogwarts, then! Cheers!"

They waved goodbye and Shane ran to the ice cream parlour where his family was waiting patiently.

"So, how was shopping?" Reed grinned as he turned to his friends.

"It's not the same without you." Sofie said dramatically and then laughed. "I told them about something that happened at France."

"It's _delicious_." Rachel gushed. "She met a _French boy_." Sofie blushed immediately.

"I for one am offended that she didn't mention him in _any_ of the letters she sent us." Kurt glared at her playfully as they walked away from the store.

"Oh, he wasn't that important." The small black haired girl waved it away.

"_Liar!_" Kurt accused and Sofie reached over to ruffle his hair but he grabbed her hand before she could. "Not today! Tell us more! For the sake of Reed!"

"Yeah, for the sake of me!" Reed laughed.

Sofie groaned. "Do I have to repeat it?" Her friends nodded enthusiastically. "Urgh, _fine._" Brittany cheered and hugged the smaller girl. "He's Elias."

"Hot!" Brittany teased, the group laughed in Sofie's expense.

"Stop it!" Sofie pushed the blonde playfully. "Anyway, he's totally gorgeous and we met on the Eiffel Tower, you know that time when we actually _walked_. He waltzed over to our side of the observation deck and casually mentioned 'loads of muggles today, huh' in the most wonderful of French accents! I was pretty glad that he could speak English. I might read a lot of French but I totally suck at speaking the beautiful, beautiful language."

"C'est bien beau, vous apprendrez." Derek smirked.

"Show off." Sofie muttered. "So we had a bit of a chat while my family was admiring the view. It was fun really. He's a bit older, fifteen, I reckon. He studies in Beauxbatons! He also told me, right before I left, that he lived near the Eiffel Tower! He wakes up to it _every day_. Wouldn't it be just lovely if you woke up to _that_, every morning?"

"The Eiffel Tower, or Elias?" Rachel giggled.

"Shove off, Berry." Sofie rolled her eyes. "Where was I? Oh right…We had to leave before I got the chance to grab his address or his last name, I forgot during the rush. And I forgot to take his picture too! I wish I could see him again."

"Aww, that's too bad." Brittany smiled sympathetically and squeezed Sofie's hand. "I'm sure you'll find someone nearer."

"Eye candy, two o'clock." Rachel whispered a few seconds after the story.

"But it's three-thirty." Brittany protested, Derek clasped her head with both of his hands and turned it to the right. "Oh." Julian, Logan, and Derek were walking towards them, with some books in their arms. Sofie's eyebrows rose ever so slightly as the trio sauntered to their direction. The boy's watched them too, since they had nothing better to do.

"I have a feeling Logan's gay." Sofie said all of the sudden, right before they were in earshot. "He's too beautiful to be straight."

"I hope not." Rachel sighed. "It would be such a waste."

"Not to the gay boys, I guess." Reed shrugged. "Hiya!"

The three grinned at the group and greeted them as well. Sofie made a subtle squeak before continuing the façade of I-don't-have-a-crush-on-you and had a bit of conversation. It wasn't so bad, she hadn't died or the world didn't explode, she could _actually_ talk to the guys she's crushing on and be all nonchalant. They didn't know of course, not the slightest bit, that they were really _that_ attractive yet. Derek (Siegerson) has caught on a little bit, flirting with Brittany, trying to test the waters of his so-called looks. It was pretty gratifying that she was blushed just the tiniest bit, then he turned his sights to Rachel.

"So what have you been up to this summer?" Kurt asked Julian.

He shrugged. "Nothing much, honestly. Just cooped up with these two," he pointed his thumb towards Derek and Logan (the blond was talking to Reed, Sofie, and smaller Derek), "playing some games off of Logan's X-Cube or something other, then playing Quidditch at Derek's."

"Why does it sound so boring when you say it?" Kurt's eyebrow rose.

"Only because it is." Julian groaned. "It's probably because we've been friends for ages that we've actually run out of things to talk about, even _if_ Logan's a muggle-born. I mean you'd think that someone who's just found out that his two best friends are from wizarding families, and then _he_ finds out that he's a wizard as well, would have _loads_ of questions to ask."

"…Did he, though?"

"Yeah, but he pretty much asked us last year." Julian waved it off.

"Oh so you're a half-blood!" Logan exclaimed. "That's nice. I wish I was a half-blood; it would be so much easier. My step-mum won't shut up about it until now. Dad doesn't… mind much." There was a bit of a sneer at the end but he covered it up with a well-placed grin. "Anyway! Did you notice the new History books?" The conversation flowed easily enough, until the three boys were picked up by Dolce Larson-Armstrong.

"Wait, _she's_ your mum?" Brittany gasped. "I didn't know she was a witch!" The six friends looked up at the famous woman standing in front of them. She smiled broadly, feeling quite pleased to be recognized by the youth. Silently, she scrutinized the children that Julian _seemed_ to be acquainted with. She weighed their pluses and minuses, whether or not they should be allowed near Julian or not. She thought the pudgy boy with the same name as her son's friends was questionable but she didn't talk much so she didn't think he would make Julian fat. There's Reed Van Kamp, she realized when he remembered the curly mess of strawberry blond from a magazine she picked up last week. _He'd be a great connection for Julian..._ She looked down on the blonde with the dopey look on her face and wondered if that was her usual expression or she was just tired.

"She's a witch alright!" Julian said proudly, snapping Dolce out of her mum-ish thoughts. "And a famous movie star."

"Oh, Julian." Dolce laughed. "Enough showing off, we've got to bring Logan and Derek home now."

"I'm a huge fan!" Rachel gasped out. Brittany nodded in agreement while Kurt rummaged his clothes for a spare piece of paper. Rachel reached into her bag without taking her eyes off the actress and took out a pad of paper and a pen. "Sign this for us, please?"

"Is that an Undetectable Extension Charm I see?" Dolce commented, impressed. She liked the colourful looking girl. She could sense some star potential in this one. Something about her tone of voice.

"Yes!" The small girl in the colourful outfit nodded vigorously. "My dad did it!"

"It's fine charmwork if you ask me." Dolce quickly signed the paper writing the six names of the children in front of her and took a group picture with all of them before ushering the boys under her watch towards the Leaky Cauldron. After the initial shock of meeting someone famous, as well as the goodbyes, they visited the pet store, hoping to buy some more food for their pets.

Brittany, with the combined effort of Reed, almost brought down half the store.

"There! That's the cat food I was looking for." She said excitedly as she ran towards the big cans of cat food. "Lord Tubbington likes people food, but since he's been pooping all over the place, my parents changed his diets." She leaned in to whisper to them. "Sometimes I sneak him some of my food when my parents aren't looking."

"You rebel!" Sofie said, humouring her friend.

Brittany turned to the cans. "It's three sickles a can. Can I get ten?"

"How much money do you have left?" Rachel asked.

Brittany dug her pants pockets and pulled out a coin purse. "Let's see… I have two galleons and…one…two…" They waited until she finished counting. They had minds wander when she exclaimed her last number, making them jump. "Sixteen! I've got sixteen sickles."

"Um… I don't think you can buy ten, Brit." Sofie said. "Maybe four."

"But, Lord Tubbington eats a lot." Brittany sighed.

"You could go back with your parents someday." Reed suggested.

Their friend nodded and smiled. She scooped up four cans without any effort. "C'mon, I'm going to buy these." She turned to Derek. "What about you, Derek? Aren't you going to buy anything for Alec?"

"Nope, those in-can things aren't his type." He smiled. "He's very picky about his food."

"Lord Tubbington –" She gasped. "That is the cutest chew toy ever! He'll love it!" She turned to Reed and dumped the cans into his unready arms. "Hold these for a second, please."

"I don't think I – bloody hell!" Reed tumbled into a shelf full of little animals (magical and not) and it started to tip over.

Kurt and Sofie pulled out their wands at the same time and pointed at the falling shelf. "_Immobulus!_" The spell worked before there was any damage.

"Reed," Brittany was holding a green mouse toy in her hand, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Reed stood up slowly and picked up the fallen cans. "Good thing that didn't fall down completely."

"What's going on there?" The disgruntled shop owner walked towards them.

"He fell, sir." Kurt answered. "And the shelf almost fell over…"

The owner grunted and surveyed the shelf that was half tipped over. "Well, nothing's damaged anyway." He pulled out his wand and erected the shelf. "So, are you going to buy something or are you going to stand there?" They cowered for a second before they went to the counter with Brittany's chew toy and kitty cans. They'd left the store with Rachel trying to stuff the new supplies into bag.

"Brittany, never ever put heavy things on Reed without telling him first!" Sofie laughed a little bit. "You could've destroyed that store… It would've been brilliant."

"You're actually crazy enough to think that." Kurt said to the smaller girl.

"And you love me anyway." She ruffled his hair and got away with it.

"Hold on! The cat food is stuck on – ow!" The five turned around and Rachel was on the ground, bag askew. "Watch where you're going!"

"I'm _really_ sorry." Puck offered his hand and she took it ruefully. She had hoped to have her revenge by not accepting his chivalry, but that idea only popped up half a second before her hand was in his. "You're so tiny, I must've overlooked you." He grinned. The owl in his cage hooted happily as she stood.

"Yes, well," she did a bit of a hair flip, picked up her bag, and dusted off her coat, "I hope you look where you walk next time. Us _tiny_ people need to be safe."

"It was a joke!" He shouted as she stalked away, then he rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Rosie, are all girls like that?" The snowy owl just hooted and he patted her beak. "You're the only girl that won't get mad at me, right?" She turned her head to the side, as if the statement didn't even make any sense (it sort of did, she just didn't understand the concept of getting angry at such a sweet owner). "I'm so glad my parents let me buy an owl this year." He looked over his shoulder to glance at Rachel, who was already with her friends, and then he walked away.

"What was that all about?" Reed asked as she walked towards them.

"Some idiot bumped into me because he didn't see me. Am I really that short?" Rachel huffed.

"No, not at all." Sofie said.

"You're just saying that because you're just as tall as she is." Kurt smirked.

"Excuse _me_, tall person." His friend rolled her eyes and chuckled. "So, where to next?"

Brittany started to giggle. "Who do we ask for help when we don't know which way to go?" Her friends stopped to turn their attention to her and they wondered why she found that sentence particularly amusing.

"Who?" Reed asked.

"The _Map_!" She burst out laughing a couple of seconds but then she stopped. She looked confused as to why her friends weren't laughing with her. All the neighbourhood kids thought it was the least bit hilarious. "Dora…? The explorer…? Do you not know her?"

"Is that the one with the Spanish girl talking to the audience?" Derek turned his head to the side, with his eyebrows scrunched up. He must've passed it by when he was channel surfing that summer.

Brittany nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, that one!"

"Never heard of it." Everyone (aside from Brittany and Derek) said almost at the same time before they went back walking. Brittany slung her head down and Derek patted her back before they continued walking with their friends.

"It's just so hard to have pureblood friends, eh?" Derek joked while they walked.

"I heard that!" Sofie called.

Brittany giggled and looked up at Derek. "Yeah, kind of. But I've got you, right? You're only half a pureblood."

"I suppose you do." He grinned then he turned to his friends. "Anyone fancy another go at Florean's?" The others nodded their assent and changed direction to walk back to the ice cream parlour again. They just bought cones topped with huge dollops of vanilla ice cream, dipped in chocolate. They didn't linger in the parlour; Reed invited them to his mother's boutique. It wasn't a long walk; the back door was just two buildings away from the parlour.

Van Kamp Robes was filled to the brim with teenagers to adults begging for Hilde's designs. When they entered, rolls of cloth were flying around the room. Hilde's employees looked harassed as they waved their wands around, luckily his mum had enough money to hire more staff.

"Reed, darling! You're here! And you brought friends!" Hilde was looking the slightest bit dishevelled when she came from the front.

"Hi, mum." Reed walked carefully towards her and kissed her cheek quickly. "I hope you don't mind. We'll be in your office so we won't get in the way."

"It's okay dear." She eyed the ice cream. "Just be careful with the cloth."

Reed nodded. "C'mon." He beckoned his friends to the office and they cautiously walked towards the office. They didn't spill a drop of cream on any of the cloth, though there was a near miss when Reed stumbled on a bit of velvet. He let his friends get into the office before him and he closed it when they were all in. "Sorry, it's a crazy time."

"You say crazy, I say beautiful." Kurt said flippantly, with an added wave of a hand. "I could watch all day."

"Well, I did once, it wasn't pretty." Derek said before licking his ice cream once again. "Reed got tangled in one of the sheets while we watching. Some spell gone wrong."

Reed shook his head, reliving the moment. "I can never look at purple the same way anymore." Sofie and Brittany giggled at that. "What? It's true!"

"Well then!" Sofie said as she waved her wand in the air, muttered a spell, and a ball of fire appeared above them. It was purple. "Fear the purple!" Reed just rolled his eyes while Kurt, Rachel, and Derek snickered.

Brittany gasped. "You're not supposed to use magic out of school!" She was suddenly worried that the Ministry would start ambushing them any second.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Brit!" Sofie chuckled. "It's fine. My brothers do it all the time at home. Apparently, if muggles aren't around, you can do magic. Nothing big, though." She tucked her wand into her jeans and sat down on the nearest chair. The ball of purple fire hovered above them. Everyone settled down in the room.

Kurt took the seat behind the desk, the very seat of Hilde, and rubbed the armrests. "I feel the power." He said. Rachel and Brittany sat on the available space on the desk while Derek and Reed shared the long couch across the desk. It was silent for a second before Kurt leaned on the desk and smiled at all of them. "So… second year!"

Rachel laughed. "Are we _really_ going to talk about that?"

"Well it's better than just sitting here and watch Sofie eat her ice cream."

"Hey! It's not my fault I want to savour every bit of it!" She protested. "I'm not the only one! I'm sure Derek's still – Oh Merlin, where's it gone?"

"…I ate it?" Derek replied.

"But before I looked at Kurt you were only halfway there!"

"…I ate it."

"More like inhaled." Brittany giggled.

Derek rolled his eyes. "It was pretty good ice cream, alright?"

"Favourite… ice cream flavours?" Reed leaned against Derek's shoulder. That's when the conversation started to flow. They played a bit of favourites before going into memories of their first year, the Room, the party, the squid attack, meeting for the first time, how nervous they all were, and how they managed to stay friends. They couldn't really know what kept them together. It was really just a matter of meeting each other after class and sitting beside each other in class, none of that House segregation thing. They didn't say it out loud, but they hoped that nothing would happen to tear them apart that year – or any year, for that matter. It was something that really frightened them just thinking about it. They couldn't remember a time when it wasn't _them_. It frightened them that it was a possibility. Nonetheless they pushed it to the back of their minds. No use thinking of something so negative. What's so bad about being so optimistic? Brittany's gone through most of her life being an optimist; the others should emulate such whenever they think of something as bad as separation.

They were trapped in a friend bubble for most of the afternoon, talking and laughing, until Hilde went in and burst it. She just went in to grab some swatches, she apologised as well, but that didn't stop them from looking at the clock. It was already four-fifty five.

Kurt was first to sigh. "Finn would be looking for me by now."

"I'd better go too. Mum and Dad would have a fit if I'm not there." Brittany jumped off the desk. Rachel opened her bag and pulled out the various items they bought, she was leaving too. Her five friends pulled out their books and Potions materials. It was a bit sad but they soon remembered that they would be seeing each other in two weeks' time.

"Aww, everybody's leaving!" Sofie groaned. "Group picture before we go!" She placed her camera on Hilde's desk after setting the timer and they squeezed into the frame until after the blinding flash.

After the goodbyes, Derek and Reed were left in the office. They'd go home with Dolce. It won't be long, just a couple more hours. Derek sighed contentedly, looking around the room, trying to remember everything they did, trying to relive them. "Don't look so sad now. It's just two weeks." Reed chuckled.

"I'm not sad. I'm just thinking." Derek grinned at his best friend. He thought about how bloody brilliant all his best friends were.

"I know what you're thinking now."

"What?"

"More ice cream."

Derek laughed. "Yeah, _right_. But I don't think Mum will approve, she'll think I'll just spoil my appetite."

"We'll share one then."

"Alright." They started to go out of the office. "You know, I wasn't really thinking about ice cream."

"I know."

"So why'd you –"

"_I_ was thinking about ice cream." Reed grinned. And so, after asking permission from Hilde, they set out to Florean'sonce again and watched the sun set.

* * *

><p>It was a very cold September morning as wizarding families to families with muggle-borns converged at Kings Cross to see their children to the Hogwarts Express. In platform nine and three-quarters, students were busy catching up with their friends that they haven't seen the whole summer, putting their luggage into the luggage compartment, and looking for a compartment to sit in so that they wouldn't have to have the awkward experience to have to sit with someone else.<p>

The big red engine came to sight as soon as they rounded the corner. Brittany strained her neck, trying to look above the heads of people to find her friends. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going until she hit someone along the way. "Hey! Watch where you're going, young lady!" A disgruntled parent sneered at her before walking away.

"Sorry!" Brittany called but the woman was already out of sight.

"Be careful, Sweetie." Phoebe said. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with these… these _people_."

Paul put an arm around his wife comfortingly. Phoebe's always been on edge about letting their magical child go around alone in the magical world. But it's the best they could do since they're both muggles. Phoebe almost stopped breathing when Professor Leona Button came to their house and told them that their daughter was a witch. It took a full two hours to calm her down and it took _another_ two hours to explain it to Brittany (though that didn't work out and Professor Button gave up explaining and leaving the girl to her imagination). Usually, Phoebe and Paul were fun parents. They let Brittany do whatever she liked, even join in on her little fantasy world she puts up time to time, but for some reason, they turn into the doting parents whenever they go to the wizarding side of things. Phoebe would admit that her daughter wasn't the brightest girl in the world but she'll be damned if anything happened to her because of her connection to the wizarding world.

"I know, Mum." Brittany smiled over her shoulder. "I'm just trying to look for –" She gasped. "Rachel!"

Rachel turned around with a smile. "Hey there, Brit! Hello Phoebe, hello Paul."

"Pleased to see you again, Rachel." Paul said and looked up at the two men behind the small girl. "Are these your – uh – parents?"

Lawrence and Vincent Berry smiled. "Yes." Lawrence said. "We are."

"Hi there." Phoebe said, feeling a bit nervous. "I'm Phoebe Pierce, that's my husband, Paul." She shook both their hands. "It's nice to meet you. You two are a lovely couple."

"Thank you." Vincent said. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Have you seen the others?" Brittany asked and they pushed their trolleys forward.

Rachel shook her head. "No, I just got in." She gestured to her trunks and Ellyse in her cage.

"Oh, right."

"I see Sofie!" Rachel cheered. "Sofie! Over here!"

Sofie turned her head and her face broke into a wide grin as she walked towards her friends. "Hi! Glad you can make it on time." She joked as she hugged her friends.

Brittany looked a little confused. "Of course we could make it. We couldn't go to Hogwarts if we didn't make it." Then she wondered. _It what?_ And before she could seriously injure herself with the effort it took to think about 'It' and what it actually meant in the sentence. Sofie spoke up.

"Oh how I've missed you." She smiled and squeezed Brittany's shoulders, because the blond to lose her train of thought – it was better that way. "Hello Mr. Berry and Mr. Berry." She looked up to the parents. "Hi, Phoebe, hi Paul."

The parents greeted the little girl back before she turned around and walked with her friends towards the baggage cart, the parents hung back a little bit to talk amongst themselves as the girls did the same. "Have you seen the boys?" Rachel asked.

Sofie shook her head. "I've been looking for them though."

"I hope they got here early or we'd have trouble finding a compartment." Rachel sighed as they reached the baggage cart. Suddenly, a spark of light drifted into the girls' line of site and it exploded into a mini-firework.

"_Oh, my God!_" Phoebe exclaimed. "Brittany –"

"We're fine, Mum!"

They turned their heads to the direction of the spark and they found the boys waving at them from a compartment. They waved back. "That went better than I expected." Rachel said. Phoebe looked relieved when she saw that it was only the boys. Then she inwardly turned frantic when she realized one of them just did a spell outside of Hogwarts. She suddenly felt as if the Ministry were coming to get them. Paul once again sensed his wife's silent panic attack and squeezed her hand gently. She willed herself to calm down.

Kurt pushed the windows apart. "They're not going to hold the train while you're _lazing_ around."

"We're going, we're going. Dear _Potter_, why are you being such a _mum_." Sofie retorted, making Rachel and Brittany laugh. Kurt scowled a little bit.

Reed and Derek stood on the chairs, the latter holding up his cat, Alec. "Alec, say hello to Ellyse and Lord Tubbington!" He made Alec's paw move up and down with his forefinger and thumb. Brittany visibly brightened up at the scene – like she wasn't already lively enough to begin with. She carried Lord Tubbington out of his cage and made him wave to Alec, who meowed. Rachel tugged on Brittany's arm to lead her to the baggage compartment.

"Hot stuff, twelve o'clock." Sofie whispered to the two girls as they approached.

"Honestly, you have got to stop say the wrong time! It's really confusing –"

"Edward Freidmont is right in front of us." Sofie hissed.

"Well why did you say twe –"

"Brit, do we really have to talk about this time-direction concept _again_?"

"Hiya, ladies." Ed grinned. They managed to greet him back. Sofie feared that he overheard them talking about him, but she was just being paranoid. "Second years, right?" They nodded. Sofie groaned inwardly, they were being all synchronised, it was going to be _so_ obvious. Ed chuckled. "Don't worry; it's not as bad as first year. It's fifth year you should be worried about."

"We'll keep that in mind, thanks." Rachel said.

"Do you need help with your stuff?" Ed asked.

"Oh we're fine! They're not so heavy." Brittany said, draping Lord Tubbington over her shoulders before grabbing the trunk handle with both hands. Ed's eyes went wide as the blond picked up the trunk from the trolley. Sofie and Rachel used this momentary distraction to check Ed out for a bit.

"Pretty fit." Rachel murmured.

"I _know_." Sofie giggled. The two suddenly noticed Ed turning towards them and they hastily grabbed Rachel's trunk handles to follow Brittany's example. However, they didn't have enough upper body strength that she did.

"How about you two, do you need help?" They sure look like they did.

Sofie shook her head. "It's very gallant of you to offer your services but we're able." _Weasley, did I just _say_ that? Gallant? Services? Really Sofia? Really?_

"All right, well, I'll be going now. See you!"

"He's nice." Brittany said as she trotted towards them after having put her luggage in easily. She took out Ellyse from her cage and carried the empty cage to the compartment.

"What do they make you do in those summer dance classes?" Rachel huffed as she and Sofie put the trunk right next to Brittany's.

The blonde shrugged. "Maybe it's the warm-ups." She handed Ellyse to Rachel. "Let's go, the boys are waiting!" Rachel and Brittany exchanged warm, huggy goodbyes with their parents. Phoebe and Paul were reminding their daughter – once again – to be careful. Brittany found that information redundant because they've been using it _every time_ they got the chance to. Vincent and Lawrence told their daughter to take care of Ellyse and in turn Rachel told them not to forget to polish her trophy collection that came from various competitions – it included the talent show in Rome. The two dads didn't _really_ need reminding though. The three girls went away soon after.

"Wow, Rachel has a trophy collection?" Phoebe asked.

"That indeed she does!" Lawrence said proudly. "She gets that from Vincent."

"Oh so he's the sperm?" She inquired again, oblivious to the discomfort she's forced upon her husband as well as the two dads.

Vincent laughed. "Well, no, we're still not sure." He looked around. "But that's a story for another time. Maybe over tea later?"

Paul laughed shakily. "I don't think that's appropriate over tea."

Lawrence clapped his hand on Paul's shoulder. "Nonsense! We insist on having you for tea!"

"See, he insists!" Phoebe giggled. "It'll be fun, they're nice."

"Fine." Paul sighed.

* * *

><p>"Hello, hello, hello!" Rachel said as she entered the compartment the boys were in. She set down Ellyse while Brittany set down Lord Tubbington. The three cats found a little nook at the corner of the compartment. Sofie closed the door. "How have you three been?"<p>

"Same since the last you saw us." Kurt chuckled. "Two weeks isn't really a long time."

"It is in cat years." Brittany commented as she absently scratched Alec's head. "My, my, you've grown!" She cooed.

"Yes, anyway," Rachel said and tucked her legs under her. "Just one more year, Kurt! We can finally be full time members for the choir!" As Kurt and Rachel discussed their plans to take over the club, their other friends went into their own conversation. Sofie talked to Reed about his mother's designs (she actually brought one of the robes with her) while Derek and Brittany were on the floor, playing with the cats. The train started to move and the six jumped up to wave goodbye to their parents one more time before they left the station, afterwards they jumped back into their original places.

Derek and Brittany really enjoyed lying down on the floor and watching the clouds go by as the train moved. It had a sort of calming effect to the two of them and they didn't speak to each other for at least five minutes. It seemed strange, watching the clouds. It wasn't like watching the trees on the outside, those moved too fast. The clouds sort of followed the train for a while before disappearing. Derek pondered these things during those five minutes of quiet. Brittany was thinking about every cloud looked like a really fluffy rabbit. Afterwards, they talked about dancing. The cats walked over them with their nimble paws. At one point, Lord Tubbington started to tickle Brittany just as she was talking about her dance lessons.

"Lord Tubbington, get off of me," she giggled, "I'm trying to talk to Derek!" The cat ambled away from her stomach. "Where was I?"

"Ballet was…" Derek supplied.

"Oh, right. Ballet was really fun. I've been taking classes for that since I was little. But I got into other things the past couple of years."

"Yeah, you told us." Derek smiled. "It sounds like a lot of fun."

"It is! You should join me some time, yeah? We'll be dancing buddies." Brittany giggled, then her mind shot off to imagining her and Derek dancing together. _What fun!_ She thought. "We can do jazz, hip-hop, contemporary, tap, ballroom, waltz, _everything_!"

Derek laughed and rubbed Ellyse's chin, making her purr. "You should send me a brochure then and we'll see."

"Hey, what are you two talking about there?" Reed said brightly and jumped beside Brittany.

"Dancing!" Brittany grinned as Alec pranced over Reed's head. Sofie's camera flashed and the three looked up, laughing a little bit. She tucked her legs under her and took a picture of Kurt and Rachel. Pictures have been her thing since she first held a camera and felt something special about taking moments before they disappear (which is why she loved stolen shots the best). She was glad that she lived in the wizarding world, where pictures moved, she couldn't imagine being a muggle and having something that didn't move. Where'd be the fun in that? She was very lucky that film was very cheap or there will be problems, problems a Gemino Charm _probably_ couldn't solve. She took another picture of Kurt while he was laughing at something Rachel said.

"Sofia Salvadair!" He said defiantly.

"What? It's not like you're horrifyingly ugly." She held the camera away from Kurt's reach. "Besides, the damage is done. It's not like you can take it out of the film now."

Kurt huffed. "They should give us the option though."

"What? Like cameras that let you see what you took and making you decide whether or not you want it? That's mad." Sofie rolled her eyes just as Rachel made a grab for the camera. She was successful on the first attempt and she screamed in laughter. The three on the floor immediately sat up as Rachel took pictures of Sofie while she screamed, "Revenge!" The cats scrambled to the underside of the seats.

Sofie was trying to catch Rachel and holding a hand in front of her at the same time. "Don't make me hurt you, Berry!" Whenever the tiny girl with shiny black hair made a lunge at the brunette, she would always miss by a few frustrating inches. The others just laughed and got out of their ways. Rachel passed it to Kurt who caught the device effortlessly and took a shot of the girl who was running towards him. He got tackled to the ground. Sofie finally took the camera for herself, vowing silently not to let anyone take it without permission anymore. Running around for it is too much work. Then they started to laugh.

It started out as a low chuckle from Sofie then it made Kurt chuckle as well. Soon enough, Rachel and Brittany started giggling. Finally they were just bent over laughing. Sofie rolled over and took a quick shot of her four friends laughing before the door slid open to the trolley lady. "Anything off the trolley, dears?" Everyone was too busy laughing to reply, but she waited. She just adored children having a great time on the train, keeps her from quitting the job. The little girl with brown hair was the first to form a sentence, though she still giggled through it.

"I-I'll have a couple of c-cauldron cakes, p-please." She managed to say and took out a couple of sickles and knuts from her pockets.

"Bertie Bott's, my good lady!" Sofie stood up from the floor and climbed the chair to reach for her bag. "I'm feeling lucky enough not to get an earwax bean this time." All the others scoured their pockets and bags for some money for their confectionary needs. They practically ravaged the trolley. Money didn't really matter when you're not going to Hogsmeade on the weekends. They all dumped the candies on the table that dropped down from the ceiling and shared their bounty. Exactly fourteen minutes later, the six of them were lying down; weary from all the sweets they've eaten. Rachel was on the floor under the hanging table, playing idly with the cats. Sofie was lying on Kurt's lap, Kurt was leaning near the window, watching the scenery fly by. He played with her hair frivolously. Brittany was on the table, making the sweet wrappers into a big pillow to lie on. It was actually a good pillow. Derek and Reed were facing each other. Their shoes were pressed against each other, Derek was reading a book and Reed was on the verge of sleep; just like Brittany.

Then the twins attack.

* * *

><p>It was something they came up with when they learned the Gemino charm and found a couple of muggle toys called "Nerf Guns". When they started to grin in their compartment, you could practically hear the Jaws theme song, it would grow faster when the twins readied their ammo, and their wands. First they attacked the ones in their compartment (Derek, Julian, and Logan) before venturing out to the unsuspecting children. Derek and Logan shot up from their positions, flailing about, Julian was still asleep.<p>

"Bloody hell, what was that?" Derek shouted. "What is this?" He picked up a Nerf bullet. The twins were already long gone. Logan picked it up.

He sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have bought those for their birthdays." The two boys turned to Julian and they both threw a Nerf bullet at his head. He just squirmed and then went back to sleep.

"He can sleep through anything." Derek rolled his eyes. Logan chuckled, thinking fondly of his two friends.

Back on the train, Evan and Ethan showed no mercy. They attacked everyone, from every house, at any year. They moved too fast for anyone to get a good hex on them. Their laughter echoed through the long hallway of compartment doors. Volley upon volley of the mysterious Nerf appeared at almost every room in the Hogwarts Express. They also appeared in the room where six friends were trying to relax.

The door slid open and the jumped into action.

Derek looked up from his book when the door opened and he was immediately greeted by a bullet to the face. Rachel sat up and accidentally bumped her head on the table. Evan and Ethan laughed as they pelted the friends, finding it quite amusing whenever they jump around like Sofie was doing. She was already half asleep and she thought she was being attacked my roaches. Reed jumped from his seat and ended up tripping into the table. Kurt glared at them. "Evan, Ethan! Go. Away."

"You're no fun, Kurt!" They replied. But they left anyway, leaving another room feeling somewhat harassed.

"Bloody twins!" Kurt grumbled and sat back down. Sofie composed herself and combed her hair down with her fingers.

"…That wasn't _so_ bad." Sofie commented as she sat beside Kurt. "Lighten up."

He picked up a bullet and presented it to her. "I have to deal with _this_ for the next six years; don't tell me to lighten up! What are these?"

"Nerf bullets." Brittany answered. "They're like… everywhere."

"Oh sweet Merlin, and they've brought them to the wizarding world." Kurt groaned.

Reed stood up and rubbed his busted up nose. He brought his hand up to eye level and saw blood. "Oh no, not again. Derek!" His friend whipped out his wand and pointed at the nose then he suddenly didn't know what to do with his wand. Reed opened his mouth to remind Derek but he remembered just in time.

"_Episkey!_" The cut mended and Derek smiled with pride for remembering the spell.

"Thanks."

"Any time."

"Could you do the same thing for me? I think I might have bumped my forehead a little too hard on the table." Rachel called from the floor. Derek got on his knees to help her.

Sofie looked around the room and wondered, "What are we supposed to do with these now?" The room was cluttered with litter, both wrappers and bullets.

"We could… put them in one container." Reed suggested, fingering the place where the cut was. It was still tingling from the spell. "We'll just have to find one."

"_Or_ we could conserve energy and just put them in a pile in the corner and let the cats play with it." Sofie said. They considered it for a moment before shrugging and doing it.

After the pile had been piled, the uniforms had been put on, and the sun had set, they arrive at Hogwarts with broad grins on their faces. It was a new year of learning magic! Who wouldn't be excited? It was also their first year to not arrive at the castle on the boats. There wasn't any difference though, except they'll be riding the same threstral driven carriages from the last day of their first year. The night was filled with students talking. It blocked out the creepy sounds that came from the woods surrounding the path. When they finally got a carriage they couldn't stop from bouncing with excitement. Well, Brittany and Sofie bounced; the others just stared up at the castle with awe. The windows were visible with light against the black stone that made the structure. It got more daunting as they neared it. It could easily be some sort of haunted mansion they're never escaping from but it was home. Inside it would be warm and lively, something the six have dearly missed over the summer.

They arrived at the main doors and were forced to leave their carry-ons and cats.

"Now, Lord Tubbington," Brittany made the cat look up at her. He just looked a little bit bored. "I know you're going to be hungry, but don't eat the other pets, yeah? There's some cat food in my bag and you help yourself to it." Then she whispered. "Don't worry; I'll sneak you some of my dinner later. I think we're going to have chicken." Lord Tubbington meowed in reply. "Good. Don't forget to share with Alec and Ellyse!" Her friends chuckled as she sashayed towards them and asked what was funny. They shook their heads and entered the hallowed halls of Hogwarts with unabashed eagerness. They waved at familiar faces and greeted them back. They were almost at the Hall's threshold when they started to drift apart from their little group.

"I'll see you all later, yeah?" Brittany grinned and the others nodded in agreement. She linked her arm with Derek and they made their way towards the Hufflepuff table. Their fellow Puffs greeted them with much gusto, making them laugh. They sat in front of Terry and Justin. Ella immediately sat beside Brittany and gave her a tight hug.

"I've missed you!" Ella said. "It was pretty dull without you around." And it was true. Brittany had this sunny effect on everyone's life. She's just so happy all the time, confused, but happy. The summer was just bland when she was out of Hogwarts (same thing goes for most of the student population). Being reunited with her roommate was the greatest thing yet.

Derek started to take the bookmark from its page, Brittany and Ella were conversing eagerly about their summer, but Cody held it down and shook his head. "Not so fast, mate! We've got some catching up to do. You and Terry can talk books later." Derek smiled a small smile and set down the book. Apparently, _all_ of his friends wanted him to be more social.

"So… you've grown." Justin commented.

"Yeah, unlike Blaine over there." Terry joked as he pointed at Blaine with his thumb. Blaine glared at him playfully and smacked him behind his head. "Hey! No use denying it." They shared a laugh.

"And here I thought we were going to talk about summer." Derek chuckled.

"Oh Derek." Terry shook his head like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Don't you see? That's very much cliché, let's talk about other things." There was a cheer that came from the Slytherin side of the Hall, making everyone look over. "Like that."

* * *

><p>"Hey there kiddies!" Lux walked towards Rachel. "Welcome back."<p>

"Great to be back, Lux." Rachel beamed at the prefect. She waved at her friends and she walked towards the table with him. "How was summer?"

"Great! It was one of the greatest summers that's ever summed." He chuckled. "And yours?"

"Lux!" They turned around and Ed was running towards him. "You forgot something!" The Ravenclaw smirked.

The Slytherin returned the expression. "And what might tha –" Ed boldly kissed Lux in front of the whole school and that earned a couple of whistles and hoots. The Slytherin table practically cheered.

"I'll see you later!" Ed smiled broadly and sauntered off to the Ravenclaw table. Lux was positively red and he licked his lips. He looked down at Rachel, who was shocked but smiling.

"Still in the honeymoon stage, eh, Bellmore?" Sydney called from the table, making everyone laugh.

Lux laughed. "Yeah, jealous, Willis?" She rolled her eyes and sat down.

"You know, my dads met in Hogwarts." Rachel said as she eyed Mercedes waving and pointing at the seat she reserved.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Lux practically puffed with pride. It was a great summer, a _beautiful_ one even! Ed was all that he could've hoped for and he genuinely thought that they would go on for a long, long time. He glanced at the Ravenclaw table again and winked at Ed. His boyfriend earned new elbow nudges from his friends.

"Shut up." He heard Ed say before flashing him a huge grin and turning back to his table.

Lux looked back down to Rachel as they walked closer to their seats. "Tell me more about your dads then, now that you've piqued my interest." Rachel immediately jumped into the story she so often forced one of her dads to recount time and time again before she went to sleep when she was younger.

* * *

><p>Right back at the entrance, Reed and Kurt were keeping Sofie from collapsing. "Edward Freidmont? The Ravenclaw Beater? Dating Luxor Bellmore?" Sofie gasped and held onto her chest. "Oh, my Weasley. I had a crush on <em>both <em>of them!"

"Think of this as experience." Kurt chuckled and patted her head.

"I _knew_ they were too pretty." She grumbled.

"Oi! Hummel! You going to the Gryffindor table or what?" Julian called. Kurt rolled his eyes and said goodbye to his friends before walking with his roommate. Shane came running in and threw an arm around Kurt's neck.

"How you doin', mate?" He almost ruffled Kurt's hair but he stopped when the finger was wagged at him. "Alright, no need to point that at me."

"You're lucky you didn't touch it, or you'd be facing the end of his wand." Julian snickered and took a seat in the middle of the long table. Shane shuddered at the thought and Kurt smiled wickedly, priding himself with the fact that everyone knew better than to touch his hair. No one was allowed to except him and Sofie. Kurt sat beside Julian and Shane sat beside Kurt.

"Hello roomies!" Evan and Ethan grinned very wide grins and sat in front of the three boys. Kurt glared at them, reminded of the unpleasant surprise they gave him on the train. Eventually, his glare softened and he sighed. He'll just have to get used to it eventually.

"Hello twins." Julian said weakly. "Did you harass anyone lately?"

"You make it sound so evil, Jules." Evan said. "We prefer the term –"

"– surprise playing." Ethan finished.

"…So… Harassing." Kurt said slowly.

"When will you learn that we mean no harm?" They asked.

"No harm? That's a load of waffle and you two know it." Julian retorted.

The twins rolled their eyes and shrugged simultaneously. "Well, to answer your earlier question, yes we _played_ with some people on the way here." Julian and Kurt sighed in defeat, they weren't going to let the whole "we're not harassing, we're just having fun" concept down. "Thanks to Logan, we've found a new channel for out joy."

"Nerf guns are like the best invention ever."

"We even learned a new piece of magic for it!" Ethan said. "The Gemino Charm."

"See, educational!"

"We made Audrey do it."

"Brothers-sister bonding!"

"It brings family closer."

Shane was the only one that wasn't mildly horrified by the prospect. He even leaned forward and said, "You better teach me how to use these things then! Blaine and I could use some bonding time."

"We lost him again." Julian grumbled.

* * *

><p>"C'mon Sofie, we need to sit down." Reed said trying to pull her from her shock, so far he was unsuccessful.<p>

"But – But… How could it slip my mind?" She asked herself. "…I was distracted." She grabbed Reed's shoulders and shook him back and forth. "I was distracted, Reed! By their _beauty_!"

He nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes!" He was willing to do anything to stop Sofie from getting too hysterical.

"How could I've been so stup – oh look, Alice and Regine!" She grinned and pulled Reed by the hand to catch up with her roommates. He was relieved when she brought them to the table. He sat beside one of his roommates, Joshua. Sofie on the other hand was talking rapidly to her friends about the happy couple.

Someone tapped Reed's shoulder, it was Quinn. "Hey, Quinn!"

"Reed Van Kamp!" She exclaimed. "Could you tell your mum that I _adore_ her and her designs?" He started to nod, and then he noticed the fine robe design on the new robe she was wearing. It was one of his mothers. Now that she's famous, he didn't know whether to be proud or scared.

"Wait, wait, wait… _You're_ Hilde Van Kamp's son?" Tina said as she whipped her head to Reed's direction.

"Well, duh, Tina." Quinn deadpanned. "How many Van Kamps do you know?"

Tina ignored Quinn's snark and Reed just answered her. "Y-Yeah." _Merlin's beard._

Her eyes bulged. "I can't believe it. I'm in the same house as my favourite robe designer! Tell your mum that she is the best! I've been buying her designs ever since they were released. My parents had to stop me from spending all my textbook money for robes!"

"You're her son?" Jude asked as he sat down. "My _parents_ love her robes. They even got me a new set just because they love it so much." He leaned over to whisper, "Can I get an autograph from her?"

Reed smiled warily. "I don't think I can go home for the holidays, Mum and Dad are pretty busy then."

"Oh, alright then." Jude still smiled and sat back down. He didn't let it show that he was mildly disappointed. If he got the autograph, his parents might actually buy that camera he's been wanting.

All of the sudden Sofie sat beside him and patted his back. She sensed the tension that was rising in him, as well as the outbursts from everyone else on the table. He was grateful. He couldn't handle what he knew was about to bubble over, not right now, anyway. He'll need to prepare for one whole night to be ready for the attention he was going to get for being his mother's son. It won't be long until his father's reputation would catch up to the student body as well.

"Please, don't crowd the famous friend!" Sofie joked as she held Reed protectively, making him laugh. "If anyone's got a question, they have to go through me." Everyone in the immediate vicinity began to laugh too. "I'm not trying to be funny!"

The sound of students catching up after a long time of separation wafted through the air and into the teachers' ears. It was really quite something to hear, students talking when you're not having a lecture. It almost seemed calming, especially to the new teacher walking from the backdoor behind Professor McGonagall. She smiled as she entered. None of the students noticed her but still, she was excited to teach. The headmistress smiled at her when she sat down beside Professor Slughorn.

"Welcome back, _Professor_ Weadell."

She looked up at her old Transfiguration teacher and smiled wider. "Good to be back, Professor McGonagall."

Hagrid was the last one to walk to the teacher's table and that was when some of them noticed the new addition to the table. She was so clearly young and new with pale skin, dark hair cut into a neat bob. Some students started to murmur with excitement. She looked vaguely familiar to some of the seventh years. Their curiosity would be satiated right before dinner would start. Professor Button entered with a crowd of scared and awed first years in tow with plain black robes that signified that they were yet to be sorted, the Hall slowly went silent.

The second years and some of the third years observed them as they walked by (the older years were already used to it by then). Had it only been last year that they were like that? They tried to remember what it felt like when they first walked down the same place, waiting to be sorted. Some of the new students tried to brave it out, not wanting to get intimidated, but they had to admit that they were the _least_ bit frightened by the hundreds of eyes watching them as they walk, the austere looking teachers at the front, and the ceiling that seemed to be not there at all. Some of them already had older siblings at Hogwarts, it was in the siblings' prerogative to either scare or comfort their first year, most went with the more blatant route – scaring.

Professor Button went up and stood beside the stool with the Sorting Hat. It started to sing its annual sorting song before the Transfiguration professor spoke up. "This, first years, is the Sorting Hat. When I put it on your head, it will see all and know all about you then it will sort you to the house you're meant to be in. It song speaks for itself actually. Shall we start?" She unrolled a scroll in a cheery fashion and started calling the first name. It was strange, just a little bit, when they remember that they aren't part of the sorting anymore. It was weird seeing it in the older years' point of view. And soon enough, the sorting ended, the Sorting Hat put away, and Professor McGonagall is going through the reminders.

Then came the big shocker of the night.

"And finally, I would like to announce that you will all have a _new_ History teacher starting this year." There was a collective gasp from the students and everyone started talking about the new teacher that came that night. She beamed at them brightly, waiting for the headmistress to present her properly. "After almost three hundred years of teaching, Professor Binns has decided to retire from his post and thought it was best that he explore the castle and float around like the ghost he really is." Everyone was already coming up with theories about what they were going to be up against, judging by the look of the teacher. Professor Binns smiled slightly, the most expression everyone's seen him use…ever. "I would like you all to welcome Professor Jocy Weadell." The students clapped politely as she stood up and bowed her head. "After seven years of studying Wizarding History abroad, she came back to Hogwarts when I wrote to her about Professor Binns' departure. She was happy to come back to her Alma Mater." The students were very happy to hear that the young teacher was from Hogwarts not too long ago. Professor Weadell sat back down and Professor McGonagall smiled at the students, raising her hands. "Without further ado, let us begin the feast!" As usual, the food was scrumptious, everyone dug in to their hearts' (stomachs') content, and the night went out with a bang.

* * *

><p>"Rach, some of them are actually shorter than you." Kurt whispered as they made way for the first years to move along. Rachel smacked his arm. "Admit it, you felt good."<p>

"…Yeah." Rachel grumbled. "I just know they're going to outgrow me next year."

"Maybe you'll get taller this year." Brittany wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "You just have to believe… Or maybe brew some growing potion."

The idea wasn't half bad. Rachel smiled slightly, just thinking about it. Then she thought of how it would backfire on her if she did it wrong and she would have to see Madam Pomfrey about it. She'll have to do some extensive library work for it. Maybe Professor Slughorn would give her extra credit. Was there such a potion though? For humans? Her mind reeled as they walked down the corridor. "Rachel!" Sofie snapped her out of it.

"Yeah?"

"You zoned out. You weren't really thinking about making a potion like that in second year, are you?" She asked.

Rachel unconsciously crossed her arms over her chest. "I could do it if I tried."

Sofie raised her hands. "I'm not saying you can't… But it could be potentially dangerous." Her eyebrows rose in mild irritation that was brought on by Rachel's defensiveness.

"Yes, but it will have to wait." Rachel waved it off even though she was still thinking about asking Professor Slughorn about it. "We'll see if it could fit in my schedule. It's a different year after all; we have classes on Friday afternoon now."

"Which is really said, if you think about it." Brittany commented. "I mean, I use that to play with Lord Tubbington. He might think I'm neglecting him… We'll have a serious talk later." She put a hand on Derek and Rachel's shoulder. "You two should talk to Alec and Ellyse as well. We don't want them to hear it from Lord Tubbington." She leaned in to whisper, "He exaggerates."

"Noted." Derek nodded, trying to humour his friend, though he might do it for fun.

Brittany then turned to Reed. "I think you might have to talk to Erik too. I know he and Lord Tubbington didn't have a great start but I think the other cats are nice to your owl."

"Good to know, Brit." He said. She smiled.

When they rounded to the next corridor towards the stairs, a group of fourth years passed by them and one of them bumped into Derek, making him almost fall over. "Move it, fat arse!" It was Amos again. Sofie and Rachel bristled.

"Watch where you're going!" Rachel called after him.

Right about the same time when Sofie said, "What's your damage?"

Amos turned around and put on a mock innocent look as he walked backwards. He shrugged. "Not my fault he's taking up most of the corridor." His friends laughed and they walked away. Derek just stood there, shocked. His friends stayed with him. It's always a surprise to find some bullying in Hogwarts. It was rare but it wasn't unheard of. They stood there in silence just for a few seconds before Brittany made the first move.

"Don't mind them," she bumped Derek's hip, "they're just jealous we're awesome."

"I can't believe they let people like him into this school." Sofie grumbled as they continued to walk.

Rachel shrugged. "When you're in Slytherin house, you kinda get used to it…Kinda."

"You should see the bad side of Ravenclaw," Reed smiled a bit. "Everyone's scrambling over who gets the higher grades. Some of them don't talk to me."

Sofie laughed. "It's really funny actually. Oh and some of them feel high and mighty because they're in Ravenclaw." Then she went into this rant on how slightly annoyed she is with how some Ravenclaws try to sabotage each other from getting better grades the last year and how it's not about the intelligence. She also talked about how some of them look down at her because she isn't as studious as the others. "Not my fault that I'm ever so slightly lazy."

"Ever so slighty?" Reed's eyebrow rose.

"Don't get cheeky, Van Kamp." She glared. "And why can't I raise just _one_ eyebrow?" Her friends laughed. "It's not funny! It's a disability."

"You're being overdramatic, and that's coming from me." Rachel said, amused. At that point, they were at the foot of the stairs towards the towers. "And I guess this is where we separate. I'll see you three tomorrow." She winked at Sofie, Kurt, and Reed before Derek and Brittany said their farewells. Afterwards, the three tower goers went up the stairs.

* * *

><p>"I take it you're never going to let that growing potion die down?" Derek commented while they walked the corridors that go deep into Hogwarts' bowels.<p>

"Nope. But I won't start just yet. I need to get the feel of the new school year before I ask Professor Slughorn about it." Rachel smoothed down her skirt absently, like it wasn't smooth to begin with.

"But I like you just the way you are, small and compact and adorable." Brittany smiled though she kind of felt sad that Rachel wanted to change something that made her special and unique. She couldn't do anything about it though, especially since this is Rachel she's talking to.

"Thank you, Brittany. However, my compact size will be a disadvantage in the future when I go on auditions for roles. They will need someone tall."

"Except when they need someone short." Derek shot back.

Rachel raised her hand to his face and put it back down when she spoke. "Regardless, it would get me a head start on next year anyway, when I – I mean Kurt and _I_ – take the Hogwarts show choir, Nightingales. They need a lead that just fills the stage and height paired with my obvious talent, I will rule that stage. With Kurt… In a different solo performance as mine." She felt a little ashamed that she was only thinking of herself that moment. She liked Kurt, she really did. But she did not want to share the spotlight. Not just yet. Not until she's lived a good life of awards, numerous lead roles in movies, TV shows, and theatre, and music, which is to say, until she dies.

Derek and Brittany share a look and though it was nice that their friend was being awfully ambitious at twelve, they was the underlying fear that she and Kurt will be up at each other's throats at some point.

"I like how you've got that planned out." Derek said after a beat of silence. He didn't want it to get awkward, that's the last thing he wanted it to get. "I still have no idea what I'm doing after all of this, it kind of frightens me. What am I going to do with my life?"

"When I start to ask myself questions, my parents usually pull me by the hand and ask me if I hear voices." This earned a pause in walking from both of her friends. She looked at them, confused. "Well, the voices are nice. They're not mean or anything. Mum totally understands because she has voices too, Dad just acts like nothing went down. But I know he has the voices too."

Rachel nudged Derek. "Oh, that's… that's really something Brit."

She threw her arms around their shoulders and pulled them along the corridor to continue their walk towards their houses. "Yes it is! I don't hear them often since I'm with you guys but sometimes they come back."

Rachel wouldn't admit it but she was actually very horrified by the prospect of someone hearing voices. In the wizarding world, that's also a bad thing. Then she figured this was Brittany she was thinking about. The voices probably meant her thoughts.

That made Rachel feel infinitely better.

They reached the stairs that lead to the dungeons and Brittany squeezed her into a tight half hug before they said their goodnights. As Rachel walked towards her house, alone in the dungeons, she mulled over her growing plan and she wondered if Mercedes, Stella, and Jesse were available to help. She should ask their opinions about it so she could decide when she could make it.

Back up the corridor, her two friends waited until she was completely out of sight before turning their attention back to the corridor.

"I guess it's just you and I again." Derek offered his arm to his blonde friend. "Shall we, Ms. Pierce."

"Shall we what?"

"…Go to Hufflepuff with you holding my arm like in the olden themed movies?"

"Oh." She linked their arms together, something Derek wasn't at all asking for but he could work around it. "Okay!" And together they skipped down to Hufflepuff house.

* * *

><p>"<em>Laganum<em>." Kurt said to the painting of the Fat Lady.

She sighed. "Only Gryffindor would make their password 'cake' in Latin."

Kurt was taken aback. "What? That was _cake_ in Latin?"

She laughed. "Yes. I quite enjoy this batch of Gryffindors though. They keep me young with humour."

He grinned at her. "Not when the other houses were crashing for that New Year party."

"Well, there's that." She rolled her eyes and swung open. "Let's hope that doesn't happen again. We paintings need sleep."

"I need that explained to me."

"Unfortunately, I have no patience for it. Get in." Kurt obliged and found it rather cheery that the Fat Lady was in the mood to talk, even for a little while. She was actually interesting to talk to. If he gets bored (which is impossible, by the way) he'd have to talk to her again. As he entered the common room, he saw the first years running up to the dormitories and he couldn't help but imagine the noise that was coming his way. As if the twins weren't enough to handle. On the bright side, they'll have new boys to bother.

"Where've you been, Hummel?" Rick said from the couch with a grin. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

Kurt wrinkled his nose, a bit annoyed. "Surely I'm allowed to be out of my house before curfew to spend time with my friends."

"Yeah, shove off, Tossum." Gwen jokingly kicked her co-prefect from the other side of the red couch. She turned to Kurt. "Sorry about him, the twins attacked him with some of those – what was it? – meff bullets?"

"I'm sure it was neff." Rick disagreed.

"Whichever, they bothered him and he felt the need to bother someone else, other than me."

"I'll leave you him then." Kurt smirked and walked up to his dorm room where Julian, Shane, Evan and Ethan were waiting with Nerf guns up and ready to fire. It will take all of Kurt not to hurt them all.

Rick turned to Gwen, who was leaning her head against the couch's arm rest, firelight glowing against her face. He didn't think anyone could look more beautiful. Audrey, Lux, and Trish were giving him a hard time about it since last year when he didn't ask her out to the Valentine's weekend Hogsmeade visit. He thought it was unfair that they were wailing on him about it. What did he do to deserve that? But now that they were alone in the common room, save a couple of fourth years and seventh years lingering somewhere in the back, it was the perfect time for him to ask her out. _A stroll along the lake would suffice_, he told himself, _I hope._

Gwen was as oblivious as she looked. She was tired, she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and she was so near to lolling off the couch. Oh but she was tired, she couldn't help it. It came with such a relief that this year's first years were less rambunctious as last year's. She could feel the slight shift on Rick's side of the couch and she briefly wondered what he was thinking but then her brain shifted into more calming thoughts.

Rick was giving himself a pep talk and it was just making him nervous. How long has he had a crush on Gwen? Two years? Three years tops? He needed to act now before someone more awesome that he ever will be would whisk her away before he's even had a chance! _Repeat after me, Freidrich._ He sucked in a huge breath. _Gwen, would you like to go out with me? To the lake. Have a little talk? Maybe a picnic. What do you say? Yes? No? Yes?_ He would have to say that last yes in a more persuasive tone, maybe put some eyebrow wiggling. It gets other girls all the time, why wouldn't it work on Gwen? _Because you're not using it right now, arse. Speak!_ But when he opened his mouth he sputtered. He couldn't do it. _Try again!_ He forced himself.

When he opened his mouth, more prepared than a second before, Gwen had other plans in mind. And it involved falling into the floor when she nodded off at the end of the couch. "This will hurt in the morning." She mumbled from the floor.

Rick sighed. The moment was over. He got up and pulled his co-prefect off the floor. "You need to get on a bed." _Oh dear God, bad thoughts, not right now! Not when she's in front of me!_ "You need sleep."

"Right." She nodded drowsily. "Bed. Night, Rick."

"Nighty night, Gwen."

* * *

><p>The Slytherins and Hufflepuffs sat in silent anticipation as they waited for their first History class with the new professor. She seemed promising from what they heard from the others before them, unfortunately they weren't allowed to speak about it, which tells so much what kind of teacher Professor Weadell is. "I sat near the door during the last class," Mercedes whispered to Derek and Brittany, "I'm pretty sure I heard <em>actual<em> laughter." Their eyes grew wide. Never in Hogwarts' history has any class _laughed_ in a History class.

Soon enough, the classroom doors opened and Professor Weadell strode in with a smile on her face. Up close, you were immediately certain of her Asian decent and somehow that added to the overall effect of her lovability. "Good afternoon, class! I am Jocy Weadell. Now I know that this must be strange to see a new teacher in the History post, it's weird for me too since not too long ago I sat where you sat." She sighed. "Good times. Anyway, let's get down to the first lesson shall we? Get your books and turn to page ten." The students immediately opened their books, something about the sunshine that radiated from her made them want to learn. The more paranoid students thought she put a spell on them. By the time they opened to page ten of the new edition, they looked at the chapter's title: A History of Wands. They looked up at her with freakish synchronization that Professor Weadell almost laughed.

"Now for five points, who can tell me when wizards started using wands?" A few hands rose and she pointed at the girl with blonde up in the second row. "Yes you, what's your name dear?"

"Brittany Pierce, Professor." She stood up.

"Well, Brittany, when did wizards start using wands?"

"Since forever." She said brightly and sat back down. Some students laughed. A couple of Slytherins were laughing because they thought it was idiotic for her to be even allowed to raise her hand in class.

"Stupid puff." One whispered, earning a glare from Stella.

Professor Weadell smiled oblivious to the snide comment. "Close, Brittany, but not exactly the right answer, good try though. Anyone else? Yes, you dear. Name?"

"Stella Rosen, Professor, and wizards started using wands around 300BC, though most historians still have vague knowledge about it."

"Very good, Stella, five points to Slytherin." The professor half sat on her table and placed her hands on it. "Second question, what are wands?" The hands were fewer but there were still those who rose tentatively. She pointed to another Hufflepuff and he stood up.

"Um, Terry Epperson, Professor… A wand is a magical instrument that channels a witch or wizard's magic."

"Five points to Hufflepuff then!" She grinned and Terry sat down with a sigh. He wasn't expecting to get it right. "Wow, you lot have done your reading, I am very happy to see that. My last class had me answering everything myself, which was quite counterproductive. Except for a couple of Ravenclaws. Okay, so if you turn your books to page eleven you will see the different types of wand wood and when they were found to have magical properties, which as you can see, are dated _after_ 323BC so that gives us an idea of when wands were invented." With a casual flick of her wand, papers zoomed through the air and into the students' tables. "I want you to go on groups of five, though one group will have six members, try not to fight." With another flick of her wand, the windows opened to the beautifully sunny day. "With your group, I want you to go out and collect samples of the trees, just small samples, and write down their name, magical properties, who discovered their magical properties, and when it was discovered. Just brief descriptions would suffice." The class murmured with excitement, an actual activity in History class _outside_ the classroom! "You have twenty minutes to do so. I've put a Protean Charm on your sheaves of parchment so when you only have two minutes left it will tell you. Are you ready?"

The class shouted their agreement with gusto. Professor Weadell laughed.

She held up a finger and they quieted down. "But first, rules! No sabotaging other groups. You will only use the windows as your entrance and exit so that we won't disturb the other classes. Be careful because there was this boy in my last class who got hurt while they were running ba–"

There was a scattered general chuckle in the class, and someone in the back called out. "Let me guess, Reed Van Kamp?"

The Professor laughed lightly. "Yes! I'm glad you all know him."

"Professor Weadell, once you've encountered Reed Van Kamp, you will do your best to watch out. He can hurt himself at any given moment." Rachel joked and earned some laughs. She held her head up proudly, she's never really had anyone, save her friends, laughing at something she meant to be funny.

"Good to know – er…"

"Berry, Rachel Berry."

They shared a smile. "Alright, so yes, be careful, be back on time or you will lose points, first group to find five different wood types and run back here will get thirty points!" The classroom's murmur grew. _They're going to like this._ She thought before announcing her next prize. "Each." The classroom cheered.

"Now! Have you grouped yourselves?" The class shouted yes. "Well then, I just have to remind you, after this, we will have a discussion about these woods and their discoveries, are you okay with that?"

"If you extend those twenty minutes to thirty, then we can talk." Cody smirked as he got up.

"Don't get cheeky mister." She laughed. "Now go on, get those samples! Time starts now!" They practically ran to the windows and they were clearly lucky that they didn't have History on the higher floors.

"Okay here's what we're going to do." Rachel said, taking undisputedly the leader role. "We're going to circle Hogwarts in different directions. Mercedes, Brittany, and Stella will go through the left side and you and I will go through the right. We should meet up in five minutes."

"What if we have the same woods?" Stella asked.

"We just take the samples from them then take out five different ones and sit in a circle and write everything down. It'll be faster." She replied quickly.

"Sounds like a plan." Derek grinned.

"We are _so_ getting those points!" Mercedes cheered and they separated.

Professor Weadell leaned on the window ledge and watched her students running around. She could hear the laughter from this far and her first day as a teacher wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She was imagining unamused students, surly students, mean students even, but all of them so far have been wonderful. And with that thought, she allowed herself a bit of relaxation – lying on her desk – and letting the sounds get to her.

"First day as Professor Weadell. Jocy, you're doing well for a Ravenclaw History nerd." She smiled to herself.

After that day, there was only one topic on everyone's lips: Professor Jocy Weadell. Everyone couldn't shut up about her. How her teaching methods were the most enjoyable teaching methods ever! How her radiant disposition made them listen in class for the first time in History class history! After one day, she was immediately one of the most favoured teachers in Hogwarts. It wasn't a surprise though; the other professors were expecting it.

* * *

><p>As weeks passed by, she held her status as the most loved teacher in Hogwarts. Students happily greet her in the halls and some of them engage in friendly conversation with the young professor. They often ask for advice for their studies, most especially the fifth years and seventh years that have very important exams ahead of them. She was always ready to answer. She liked how she was helping these children beyond her circle of teaching. It was like she was given some higher purpose than just teaching History. This was the best decision she's ever made since she left Hogwarts.<p>

It was most definitely a new year in the halls of Hogwarts.

"Hello Professor!" Sofie greeted as the beloved professor passed them by; her friends did the same.

"Oh hey," Professor Weadell smiled, "how was tea time, dears?"

"It was alright, Professor. Really nice to be back after the long summer months." Reed answered. "Did you ever get that feeling before?"

"Yes, I did. It's like you'd rather be here than at home, yeah?" She let out a quick laugh. "The only thing missing are your parents and then you may never leave." The group replied their assent with smiles. "I better leave, I have a class to attend to, have a nice day! Oh and Reed, dear, tie your shoe laces." She went away in a casual gait and again, she was greeted by students along the corridors. Two of her students for her next class walked with her, talking about their classes before hers.

Reed got down on his knee and tied his shoes. "She is just _marvellous_." He got up after tying his laces tightly. They started walking down the corridor again.

"Definitely the breath of fresh air after Professor Button's Transfiguration classes." Rachel said, Derek and Brittany agreed brightly. "I could go to her class all day long."

"You and the rest of the student population." Kurt quipped.

"She's like heaven. She's so unreal." Sofie sighed. "Today, she gave us chocolate frogs as a prize. She's a unicorn that was turned into a human, I know it."

"…But unicorns don't like boys that much…" Brittany commented. "And since she's so friendly to girls _and_ boys, I don't think she's a unicorn…" Her friends stared at her with surprise. These slightly crazy but slightly true insights were quite astounding not to grab their attention. She just looked confused. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing." Kurt waved away. "Let's go, I wouldn't want to be late for Charms. Come along Hufflepuffs." And with that, Derek and Brittany scurried behind their friend. Sofie, Reed, and Rachel walked away to the other direction towards Herbology.

"How's the 'growing' potion working, Rach?" Reed asked. "We haven't heard you talk about it for a while now."

"I'm taking my time, my dear Reed." She answered. "I need to familiarize myself with the workings of being a second year before I take up any extracurriculars."

"That sounds like a little too much work for some personal project." Sofie commented. "And how long do you need to 'familiarize' yourself? It's been a month!"

"A month just simply won't do. That's far too short." She said dramatically.

"Why are you talking like that?" Sofie asked.

"I'm practicing my 'Olde English' accent for when I have to do a medieval play in the future. What did you think?" Rachel grinned.

"I think you're doing it a little _too_ much. Just a tad." Sofie said as they turned to the classrooms.

Rachel nodded. "Right, right. Too much, noted."

* * *

><p>The night before All Hollow's Eve, the school's choir, the Nightingales, made an announcement after their energetic rendition of one contemporary wizarding song from <em>Camisado<em>, Reed's favourite band.

Sofie heard Reed whimper. "What's wrong?"

"They're doing 'Night Out'." Reed had said. "It's one of my favourite songs. They're singing it so beautifully!" Sofie couldn't deny it. They were really good. He was the first to cheer when they were finished. This performance piqued not only Kurt and Rachel's interest but it did Reed and Brittany's. Reed enjoyed the prospect of the possibility of performing a _Camisado_ song and Brittany enjoyed the dancing in it. However, Reed didn't think he had the guts to actually audition for the choir and just as easily as the want came, it flew away.

The choir director and Muggle Studies professor, William Schuester, came up to the centre of the Hall after patting the backs of the students that were under his direction. "Round of applause please for the Hogwarts Nightingales!" They were met with great applause once again and they beamed with pride on the sides. "Alright so if you may or may not know, there will be another international choir competition this year and it will be held at Cavvan Wizarding Institution next month! The Nightingales need your help, we need four portkeys to send us to Cavvan and it will cost us a bit of gold. So tomorrow after our Halloween feast, there will be some fun prepared for you."

The mere mention of fun got the students talking about it; Professor Schuester had to make them settle down before they continued. "There will be movies all through the night until three in the morning, games, and a Corridor of Horrors specially created by the higher levels that promises the induce more screams than humanly possible. There will _also_ be a concert held here in the Great Hall for everyone to enjoy. Everything will be affordable, nothing over a Galleon, so I hope you can stop by tomorrow and have some fun, yeah?"

The Hall replied with shouts of jovial excitement. The Nightingales beamed before Professor Schuester left them to their dinners. The choir members were greeted with pats on their backs when they got back to their respective House tables, still in costume.

Blaine walked back to his table, smiling brightly and accepting a lot of compliments from his first lead performance with the Nightingales. That was something huge since he was still undergoing puberty and his voice wasn't as great. He was very lucky to grab that solo. The Hufflepuffs were very proud of him. Derek and Brittany offered their own compliments before they went back to their dinners.

"That was fantastic, don't you think, Derek?" Brittany asked while she put another dollop of whip cream on her cookie. "All that singing and dancing! I think I'm going to audition next year!"

"That's great; Brit. Someone has to keep an eye on Kurt and Rachel anyway." He replied, adding another dollop of whip cream on his cookie cake (three large cookies with chocolate ice cream on top, surrounded by whip cream). Everyone was looking at him and wondered how he could devour such a thing after the dinner he had.

"What do you mean?" She asked, taking a bite off her cookie thereby leaving a smidge of whip cream on her nose. Derek wiped it off.

"They're a bit competitive, don't you think?" He answered after making a cut in his "cake". Brittany pondered on that thought. Meanwhile, Derek was in the process of stuffing the slice into his gob. The Gryffindors across him stared, trying hard not to laugh at the fat boy. They made choking gestures and they erupted in laughter that wasn't _that_ unusual during meal times. Kurt was shooting them hard glares but they didn't pay attention to him.

"Well," Brittany started, "I'm kind of competitive, so are you, Sofie, and Reed, I don't get why Rachel and Kurt are any different."

Derek shrugged and took another bite. "They just have this little look in their eyes," he managed to say, "I don't think I enjoy it, particularly."

Brittany didn't want to think about it anymore, thus shifting the subject. "Are _you_ auditioning?"

"Nah, I don't think my puberty voice could handle such a thing. I'm not like Blaine after all." He sighed and looked over to Blaine who was still smiling from post-performance compliments. Some people are just born to be fantastically gifted. "You?"

"Maybe. I like dancing. Singing's okay too." She shrugged. "It'll be fun, you _should_ join!"

"Fourth year, I promise."

"That's a really long time from now… Alright, as long as you promised." She nudged her head against his and swiped a finger through the whip cream that he had mounded around his "cake".

"So, have you got any Galleons or Sickles left? We sort of blew ours off on sweets on the train trolley." Terry said.

"I think I do. My mum told me to keep some just in case of emergency." Derek answered after he swallowed another bite of his cookie cake. "Why, do you want to borrow?"

"Nah, my parents told me not to be in debt, _ever_." He sighed and leaned his head on his chair.

"Bloody hell, _I'll _borrow." Cody grinned, chuffing Derek's shoulder. "Expect payment after the winter break, mate! I want to go to that Corridor of Horrors just to hear the screams of my fellow schoolmates." All of them gave him a strange look and he just stared back. "What?"

"That's sick, Codes." Justin clucked his tongue.

"Is it so wrong to listen to other people scream?"

"Yes." Derek said.

"…Maybe so, but it'll be fun being in that corridor too! Imagine the sleepless nights! The extra reading time!" He said to Derek. "The extra studying time! The choir gets to Cavvan and we get better grades."

"Cody Miller you have got some twisted logic there." Terry shook his head.

"So you agree? It's logical?" Cody asked hopefully. Terry threw a cookie at his face.

* * *

><p>Milly Hart, one of the co-captains of the Nightingales, sat down across Rachel after their performance. The smaller girl couldn't help but admire the seventh year right in front of her, especially since she was so nice to her like all the time. She was one of the very few who enjoyed listening to Rachel's incessant singing in the dormitories other than Jesse. "So, what did you think?" She asked after Professor Schuester's announcement.<p>

"It was _brilliant_. I can't wait to finally join next year! I bet the competitions are to die for." Rachel gushed.

"I'm glad you liked it. And I'm happy that I know two people who are going to take over that choir by storm." She smiled at Rachel. The second year swelled with pride. "I'm going to be very sad to leave this year, but I still had a great time. Go to the concert tomorrow, yeah? I'm singing a solo. And the whole thing's only for a galleon."

"Most definitely!" Rachel grinned.

"Great." Milly reached over to pat Rachel's hair. "See you there! And be sure to take down notes, it'll be of use to you in the future."

"I'm way ahead of you. Kurt and I have been paying much attention to your rehearsals and we've even written down ways to make it better."

Milly's eyebrows rose. "Wow, that's more than I've done when I was in second year. I'm impressed. If I was Head Girl, I'd give you points just for that." They shared a laugh.

Mercedes glanced at them and turned back to Stella. "Do you think I'll be able to join the club next year? It seems Rachel's doing a better job than me."

"Oh don't fret, 'Cedes!" Stella grinned after taking a bite of her lamb chop. "It'll be fine. If I were Rachel, I'd be careful, you're some competition. Funny how she doesn't notice you sing around like she does."

She offered her friend a shy smile. "I'm not as loud as her."

"You could if you wanted to be." Stella said. "You're just as talented as she is. She's just more upfront about it."

"Is that your nice way of saying she's annoying about it?"

"A little bit, yeah."

Mercedes chuckled. "I love you, boo."

"I know." She punched Mercedes on the shoulder and they both went back to eating as Rachel and Milly continued to talk about performances and vocal ranges.

* * *

><p>The next day, Derek, Reed, Sofie, Rachel, Kurt, and Brittany pitched their money together for the night's activities. Since they nearly blew all their money on the train trolley, it was some pretty hard work since they refused to let Derek use his "emergency" money. After all, it wasn't too early to give him a quick lesson on the value of money. He stopped suggesting it afterwards, though he provided most of the Sickles (they just refused the Galleons). All in all, they had ten Galleons. This provided a bit of a dilemma since they wanted to go into the Corridor of Horror (though Brittany, Reed, and Derek were happy to find that out) and the concert.<p>

"It's okay if I don't go to the Corridor." Reed spoke up. "I _could_ get really hurt in there."

"Yeah… And I'm actually really scared to go in." Derek admitted.

Sofie sighed, she knew telling Derek to value money would somehow deter their fun friend time during Halloween. But what's done was done and she looked up at them again. "At least we're going to the concert together."

Kurt nodded. "I reckon that's the better part of the evening anyway."

"We'll just wait for you on the other side." Derek agreed.

"It would've been better if we went together but Kurt's right, the concert is the more important part. I can't wait for you all to see it! It will call on more students to join the club." She beamed at the five of them. "Are any of you thinking about joining next year?" The moment she said it, she felt a little regret. She'll have to crush them under her shoes too if they got in the way of the songs she wanted to sing and since they're best friends, she _wouldn't_ want to have to do that. She hoped that it was only Kurt; he's probably the only one to have the voice that would threaten her since he's got such a wide vocal range. She'd been thinking about it for a time. There was a serious debate on friendship and fame that scared her mildly since the obvious choice (friendship) wasn't _her_ obvious choice. Before she started debating whether or not she and Kurt should have a talk about that problem, Brittany spoke up.

"I'm thinking of joining."

"You are?" Kurt smiled. "That's great, Brit!" Rachel inwardly sighed with relief. _It's just Brittany,_ she thought, _she's not exactly smart enough to have that much ambition. She'll probably just dance around._

"Yeah." Their blonde friend nodded. "I liked the dancing part, so I guess if I have to sing to get into _that_ I'd do it." She looked at Sofie, Reed, and Derek. "Aren't you three going to join?"

Sofie stifled a very loud laugh. "I can't sing, Brit. I'll end up either being attacked by the mermaids or bringing down Hogwarts. Then you'll all turn blind due to my immediate lack of dancing skills. Trust me; you do _not_ want me in that club."

"Derek, Reed?" Kurt prompted.

Reed shifted his weight from side to side, unsure of what to say. "I want to, but I'm scared that I'll end up hurting everyone and myself in an accident. Maybe when I'm older? I'll probably get more coordination."

"Fourth year, I promised Brittany." Derek answered. "My voice would be done with puberty by then, don't you think?"

"That's settled then." Rachel continued to smile. "Oh, I can't wait for next year!"

"Definitely!" Kurt seconded, slightly oblivious of Rachel's thoughts of the situation. He chose not to look into it nowadays since they were really close friends now and he trusted her to value that friendship over the choir. "We're going to take that choir together, with our voices and Brittany's dancing, it will be glorious." The bell rang and they picked themselves up from the floor right outside the Hall and started walking to their classes.

"That it will, Kurt." Rachel reached down to squeeze Kurt's hand. "That it will."

"Can I bring Lord Tubbington with me? We have this routine planned out… Well, I have this routine planned out but he doesn't want to cooperate." Brittany asked, walking in between her friends.

"You'll think of something." Kurt said, patting her head. _If anything aside from Charms goes around in there._ He jibbed mentally, but thought better than uttering that out for everyone to hear.

Sofie sighed and grabbed Reed and Rachel's wrists. "Well, it's time for Potions. First thing in the morning, hardly seems fair." Then turned the corridor to the direction of their class.

"Bye!" Reed said brightly as his friend dragged them to the dungeons, the promptly stumbled over, almost dragging Sofie with him. He picked himself up easily, checking for scratches on his hands before walking again. Rachel threw her hand in the air as a sign of goodbye.

"Transfiguration?" Derek asked.

"Transfiguration." Kurt nodded. "Now _that's_ unfair first thing in the morning."

Brittany groaned. "It is! I'm failing everything in that class, it's just sad." She's always been insecure with everything not Charms. She knew she wasn't the smartest wizard in the bunch but she just can't seem to get it right most of the time. She sometimes thought it was because she was a muggle-born though her friends say otherwise.

Derek wrapped his arm around Brittany and Kurt's. He smiled brightly at Brittany. "Don't worry, Brit, we'll teach you first thing tomorrow, yeah? Won't we, Kurt?"

"Don't we always?" He said to Derek, then smiled at Brittany, who returned the favour gratefully.

* * *

><p>The day trickled by in a blur of spells and parchment. As always, Rachel and Reed performed beautifully during every subject they were presented. They showed great aptitude at everything since their first day of class and they were both in the running for smartest witchwizard of their year. Rachel found it somewhat annoying that Reed was as good as her but at least he wasn't better. Sofie sometimes wondered why she was put into Ravenclaw since she hardly ever studied for her lessons, though somehow she always managed to scratch up pretty decent grades. That was probably it; almost all of Ravenclaw resented her (just a little bit) for that. Derek goes along with the flow, getting progressively better at Charms like Brittany but progressively bad at Transfiguration even though he was really good at it the last year. Maybe he had a learning disability that replaced one capacity for a subject over another. Kurt was practically flourishing in Potions class, earning the favour of one Professor Slughorn. He wondered as he mixed ingredients for a draught, that if the whole superstar thing didn't work, he could always be a potioneer. Potioneering sounded like fun.

Everyone got through the day with increasing effort due to the excitement that the night promised. It was the same excitement that made them soldier through their lessons. The performers were nervous of course, their first benefit concert in a while. Why the Ministry cut the arts program, Professor Schue wouldn't say, but that would deter them from joining the interschool competitions. When dinner came, various Nightingales ate hastily, some of them almost choking, just to get their stations ready. Left and right, students stood up from their tables and ran out of the Hall. The other students watched as they left then murmuring to their friends about what they were doing that night again. While most of the younger years planned on going to just some of the events, the older years (mostly sixth and seventh) decided to go all out. Go to every stall, every event, just for the fun of their last year (or two) in Hogwarts.

The teachers watched in fascination too, the students were barely eating with eagerness for the night's proceedings and Nightingales leaving their tables to run out of the Hall. Professor Sprout leaned near Professor Schue. "Don't you think you've got them working too hard for this, William?"

He took a sip from his drink and smiled at the Herbology teacher. "I don't think so. They all wanted to do this. It's been a long time since the Nightingales had something like this, they're as excited as the others."

"If you say so…" She replied, still a bit uneasy as she watched another running off with a full stomach. Professor Schue followed her gaze.

"We'll just tell Poppy to get ready for stomach aches." Both of them nodded.

After dinner, students were allowed half an hour to change into a more casual form of dress to which Reed, Sofie, and Kurt were eager to do. At the same time, some Nightingales would turn the Hall into a stage, complete with trap doors, lights, and curtains. The six of them agreed to meet at the fifth floor corridor for the Horrors part of the night in twenty minutes. "And Rachel, _please_ don't wear that Reindeer cardigan you've been 'saving'." Kurt said, earning Reed's nod of assent. The little girl huffed out a "fine" and they parted ways.

As the two Ravenclaws and Gryffindor climbed up the stairs, they came across another group. "Hey, Hummel!" They turned around and Sofie immediately bit her mouth shut, inwardly screaming as Julian, Logan, and Derek came into view. "Where are you going tonight?"

"Rachel, Sofia, and I are going to the Corridor of Horrors first then the six of us are watching the concert. Heard you were singing a duet with Blaine," Kurt said to Logan, "I'm sure it will be a great number."

"Thank you." Logan smiled.

"And you?" Kurt asked back before walking up the stairs once again.

"Well, naturally we're cheering for blondie." The other Derek said then sent a punch to his friend's arm. "But I guess we're going to the same places too. Like I had a choice."

"What do you mean?" Reed mused.

"Derek had a date planned tonight." Logan chuckled. "But _friends first_, right D?"

"Jules threatened to hex the girl if I didn't promise to come along with him to watch Logan sing a duet with Huffleboy." Derek grumbled.

"And it just warms my heart that you chose to support your friends over going on your very first date." Logan said mockingly. Everyone either snickered or chuckled at Derek's expense. He grumbled once again about how it wasn't his _first_ date but no one really paid him any mind. They decided to go together, much to Sofie's joy and despair, or was it despair and joy, she couldn't really tell. But then she'd have to care what she was going to wear and how she would look and stuff like that. It didn't really bode well that Reed was a boy and therefore couldn't help her in her crusade. Alice and Regine were as hopeless as her so that was a bust, however, she thought, she _could_ try for their advice anyway.

"We'll meet up with Rachel and the others at fifth floor corridor." Kurt reminded all of them before he and Julian turned towards Gryffindor tower.

"Do you think the twins will come with us?" Julian asked.

"I hope not, I wouldn't dream to think of what will happen if someone tried to separate them in that corridor." They shuddered at the memory of waking up to Evan and Ethan after a brief separation nightmare. "But didn't they say they had other plans?"

"Did they? I don't remember."

"If you weren't paying too much attention to your reflection last night, you would've." Kurt nudged Julian playfully.

"In my defence, I'm gorgeous; therefore I enjoyed looking at myself." Julian ran his fingers through his hair, making Kurt roll his eyes. "I mean, who wouldn't?"

"Are you always this conceited?"

"Are you always this sensitive?" Julian laughed. "We've been roomies for one year; I'd think you'd get used to it."

"Yeah, me too."

"Kurt!"

"Jules!"

The two ducked impulsively as four Nerf bullets flew over their head. Evan and Ethan sighed, not being able to hit their friends and mentally noted that they should fire first, greet later. When the two stood up straight, they noticed that the twins were already in their casual wear, identical to the last stitch and grin. They were also decked with a Nerf arsenal. "I'm not going to even ask." Julian shrugged and went pass them, into the common room.

Kurt looked at them up and down then decided that there was no point to question them about what they were planning to do. "Whatever you plan on doing, have fun." He said as he passed them by.

"We intend to, Kurtykins!" They called back and Kurt bristled at the nickname. The portrait swung to a close and it actually seemed peaceful once the twins were out. Kurt crossed the common room quickly, he still had to _choose_ his outfit because he had two prepared last night. Shane burst through the door and grinned at Kurt.

"I'll see you later at the concert, yeah? My brother's going to be there!" He said excitedly. Kurt nodded and before he could speak up Shane hugged him tightly and thanked him for his support before leaping down the stairs. He brushed some wrinkles on his robes before entering his dorm room. Julian was undressed and was in the process of choosing a shirt. Now that shouldn't be a problem to Kurt, after all they've been roommates for more than a year, and yet he couldn't help but admire the tiny bit of definition Julian earned from whatever he was doing the whole summer. He regained his composure just before his roommate turned around. The strange moment of attraction towards Julian left him confused as ever. As a twelve year old boy, shouldn't he be thinking about girls? Why wasn't he? What kind of boy was he? There was that word… gay. It came up into his head as he took off his robes. None of his friends knew about his current condition. Was he gay? He was too scared to tell anyone, afraid of their reactions. Except maybe Rachel. Having two gay dads would make her pro-gay. But then she'll tell everyone, he knew as much and he wasn't ready for that kind of attention as the school's gay boy even though there were a handful of gay kids in Hogwarts. They weren't his friends, most of them were older than he was. He just can't approach them all willy-nilly because then everyone would know that he might be one (or at least questioning). All these thoughts circled his head until Julian spoke up and the distraction was welcomed.

"Kurt, which one should I wear, the blue shirt or the red one?" He held up two different shirts, one long sleeved and a button down, the other just a normal red one. "Or should I just throw these back and go for a more Halloween look with orange?" Kurt made a noise that was a cross between a snort and a giggle (a sniggle).

"Orange is _definitely_ not your colour, Larson-Armstrong." He said. "Go with the red, you're not going to a high end party after all."

Julian threw the blue button down back into his trunk and put on the red shirt. "Thanks. Now that I've got nothing else to do except wait for you, I'll just lie down here and try to rest my eyes."

"Don't fall asleep now, remember that time when you said you'll 'rest your eyes' before Charms started because Professor Flitwick was –"

"Yes, yes!" Julian covered his face, which was burning with embarrassment. "Can we not get into _that_, please?"

Kurt laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll stop now. But you've got to admit it was fun –"

"Don't you have to dress for something?"

"I thought you _liked_ it when people talked about you."

"Stop mocking me, Hummel."

Kurt dug into his trunk and pulled out two separate outfits. "_Wingardium leviosa_." The two garments floated up to his height and called for Julian's attention. "So, which one, Armani, or Marc Jacobs?" He asked as he flitted to one and the other. "You're my Reed right now."

In twenty minutes, the lot of them showed up at the fifth floor corridor where they could already hear the screaming coming from inside. The concert wasn't going to start for another hour so all of them had the time, even Logan (who was leaving immediately once they were done in this particular attraction). Everyone seemed to bring some of their roommates with them. Rachel had Mercedes and Stella along. Derek's roommates, Cody and Justin, came along just for the corridor, after which they will go back to their room where Terry was left to read books. Brittany had Erin and Ella along, though Ella will only be joining the concert part of their night. Reed had Joshua tagging along; however, he wouldn't be going into the corridor with the others.

Milly was at the last leg of her corridor shift when it was their turn (there was a bit of a queue waiting for the Corridor). She smiled at them brightly and proceeded with the overview. "We practically have half the floor to ourselves and you all exit on the other side." She pointed to another staircase across the building. They could see some students running out of the floor then it was punctuated by a scream coming from behind the veiled hallway. Half of them gulped, Milly just laughed. "Yes, yes, it's scary, I'll tell you that. We have a bunch of things in store for you, so I hope you're prepared to scream. But don't worry, we have a few members scattered inside just in case anything goes horribly, horribly wrong." That wasn't as comforting as she thought it would be. Those who weren't coming inside (Reed, Derek, Brittany, Ella, and Joshua) were glad that they didn't have to be compelled to screaming. Sofie handed Reed her camera ("Take care of baby, yeah?"). Then she asked him to take a picture of them right before they entered. After a few shots, they paid for their horror and Milly brightly told them to "have fun" before closing the veil on them.

"Mill!" A boy came running to her side. "I'm here, I'm here."

She laughed. "You're just on time Artie. See you all later in the concert, yeah?" She patted Reed's head and head down to the Great Hall.

"Are you lot going to go in?" Artie inquired after catching his breath.

"No." Ella responded. "We're saving our Galleons for the concert." He nodded and sat on the chair waiting a few minutes to send the next batch in. The five of them decided to wait at the exit and watch the horror struck students run out of the place. As they walked towards the exit, they were greeted by various stages of hysteria among the boys and girls that went into the corridor. Some were laughing away their screams, having excited their adrenaline with fear. Some were actually crying and shaking. At one point they heard someone say, "They had a boggart! Those arseholes had a _bloody boggart_!"

"What's a boggart?" Brittany asked.

"It's a shape shifter." Joshua answered. "It takes on the form of a person's greatest fear, so doesn't have a definite form… No wonder a couple of them were crying. I'd be crying too, I'm not afraid to admit, if I faced one. My house got one last summer, it was horrible!" He shuddered at the end. Brittany looked up at the exit door and wondered what it was like inside, just out of curiosity.

* * *

><p>It wasn't that bad when it started. There was darkness at first. Bundles upon bundles of black cloth hung from the ceiling, obstructing their vision for a few seconds. "Derek! That is my <em>foot<em>!" Logan growled. They bumped and stepped on each other before arriving to the other side. It was dimly lit and ten feet ahead of them there was a doorway. The next thing they all saw was the blood on the floor then they saw a cat hanging from a torch, looking absolutely petrified.

"Doesn't that look like Mrs. Norris?" Erin asked all of them looked up at the cat.

"Why are you still looking at the cat?" Logan said tightly. They all looked up at the writing on the wall. _The chamber of secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir beware – you'll be next mudbloods._ "I would like to know who wrote _that_."

Rachel snorted and turned to her companions. "That's preposterous." She continued talking as a new hole began to take form behind her, one of the spells the seventh years worked hard on. "The Basilisk was killed by Harry Potter, remember?" The others paled when a giant snake head with bleeding eyes began coming out of the hole. "It says so in – _bloody hell_!" She screamed when the snake hissed. The snaked turned its attention to the others and opened its mouth. They all shouted when it dove at them. It landed with a crunch but shook it out.

"Open the door! Open the door!" Julian shouted as Derek jiggled the latch. The room was filled with hisses. The snake made another dive at Logan, who ducked just in time. "Oh my god, Derek, move! _Alohamora!_" The latch clicked and they opened the door. They all sprang through the entrance before closing it. There was a sickening thud against the door. When they turned around, they found themselves in a foggy forest, similar to that of the Forbidden Forest. If they weren't so scared, they could've admired the great charmwork the students went through to get the authentic scary forest look, however, the Basilisk shook them up a little; the forest was the last place they wanted to be in.

There was a howl. "What was that?" Justin asked.

"A howl, you thick –" Cody began to say but the howl sounded nearer. "Oh sweet Merlin. Where's the next door?"

"I can't see anything." Derek said and pulled out his wand. "_Lumos maxima!_" A huge ball of light sprang from his wand and he threw it in front of him. They stood together, quiet, as they watched the ball move in the darkness and it stopped against a door that resided on a tree a long way across the forest. The ball of light disappeared.

"At least we know it's straight ahead." Kurt mused. There was a growl. "What was that?" Then a twig snapped. They whirled around to find a realistic werewolf staring at them with its teeth barred. "Oh dear."

"Run!" Logan shouted and that's when the werewolf sprang. They ran separately. The werewolf ran towards Kurt, Rachel, Erin, and Sofie. She looked back and whimpered. The others weren't so lucky. While they were running from the werewolf (who wasn't following them), Julian, Logan, and Cody managed to anger a hive of Acromantula which promptly chased them as well. None of them knew where the door was anymore. Derek, Mercedes, Stella, and Justin were the only ones to arrive at the door and they looked back to find that no one was with them.

Justin spotted Cody running from the spiders so he started jumping and waving his hands over his head. "Cody! Over here!"

"_Are those Acromantulas?_" They heard Sofie shriek. "Get them away, dear Potter, get them_ away_!" She continued running, huge spiders in hot pursuit. She tripped over a root and she shuffled away from a nearby Acromantula, almost crying when it reached for her. "_Flipendo!_" Kurt shouted and Rachel picked their friend up before running again.

"Oi! Over here!" Stella hollered while Derek fired another light charm above him to signal everyone to the door's direction. Everyone looked up to the light and ran towards it. Rachel grabbed Sofie's hand and dragged her to the other direction.

"No! Acromantulas!" She protested hysterically.

"We get to the door, we leave them behind. _Come on_!" Rachel shouted and Kurt came back for back up. They ran towards the door with huge spiders and a werewolf behind them. Justin already had the door opened and they all began to run inside. The werewolf made a lunge at Julian.

"_Everte statum!_" He shouted and it was thrown back. But it recovered quickly, blatantly angry. "Oh, no, angry werewolf."

"Good going, J." Logan muttered. Julian chose to ignore that when they closed the door behind them. There was a thud. They were back into the dim Hogwarts setting and there was another door at the bend of the corridor. They would've allowed themselves to catch a breath but the constant thudding against the door proved too much of a fright. After two steps into the corridor, the door burst open with spiders crawling up at the walls and ceiling, the werewolf was barking. Sofie, Rachel, and Stella shrieked and made a run for it. They followed after a beat.

The spiders and werewolf continued to pursue them as they ran away. A spider dropped in front of Sofie, she looked a little faint and wouldn't move until Cody threw it aside with a spell. Kurt pushed her ahead, telling her not to look back. Just as Kurt said that, another spider fell on his head and he flailed around. "Get it off!"

"_Flipendo!_" Mercedes shouted and it flew off. "What was going through their minds when they made this place?"

"'Torture them all', that's what!" Cody replied.

"Cody!" Justin shouted and his friend turned around to find Justin in the werewolf's grasp. He was trying to crawl away but the werewolf had a very tight hold on the Hufflepuff's ankle. "Cody, help!"

Stella quickly opened the door and jumped inside. Logan and Julian turned around to find the two standing in a sea of spiders. Cody held up his wand and pointed at the werewolf. "_Ascendio._" With that simple spell, the werewolf was shot up from the floor and to the ceiling, squishing a spider in the process. Cody grabbed his friend from the floor and helped him to the door where Logan and Julian were keeping spiders out of the way.

"Run faster!" Logan demanded.

"I'm sorry, my friend's kind of injured you see!" Cody retorted before he fired another spider away from the doorway. Finally, after a few more spiders, they closed the door behind them with a satisfying click. The other side was silent and they breathed in a huge breath.

Out on the other side, a sixth year Slytherin came out from the forest part of the corridor and waved his wand, making the Acromantulas and werewolf stop in mid-door attack. "Alright, break it up, break it up. Back into the forest, the lot of you!" The monsters trudged back without any complaints. He walked over to the squashed spiders and fixed them up with a wave of a wand. He sighed. "The more aggressive students just ruin my charms." But he had to admit, it was better to watch than intervening when the werewolf caught a helpless witch who seemed to have forgotten that she was a witch.

Behind the next door, they were all catching their breath. "That was _sick_." Sofie groaned after a moment's pause. "No more insects, please!" She called into the house. Yes, they were in a small house. It was a quaint house with lovely wallpaper and furnishings. Dark, but lovely.

"Don't _say_ that." Erin reprimanded and sat on one of the sofas. "They mind use it against us."

"Oh more insects please, by all means!" She shouted back, sarcastically.

"Where are we?" Justin wondered aloud, looking up at the room until his eyes landed on a blue screen. "What's that?"

"It's a television set." Logan answered, walking towards it. It only showed static and nothing else. It was also the only light in the room.

"A what?" Stella asked.

"It's a muggle thing." Logan said, still looking into the screen. "They watch things with it."

Justin nodded and tossed the thought around his head. "Yup, definitely taking Muggle Studies next year." Just then, the room went dark since the TV went black. Half of them whimpered. Kurt, Derek, and Erin lit their wands just in time for the screen to flash on again, this time with a white circle in it.

"Shit." Logan whispered in horror and backed away from the TV. "I think we should leave."

"Why?" Julian asked worriedly. "What is it?"

"Remember that movie I made you watch this summer?" Logan gulped. Julian stared at the screen longer and then realized what was going on as the images flitted pass the screen and ended at a picture of a well with someone crawling out of said well. He gulped audibly.

"I would like to demand who left a muggle-born in charge." Julian groaned.

"What is it?" Rachel asked loudly then squinted at the TV. "Who's that?"

"The reason we should be running right now." Derek commanded and ushered everyone out of the living room just in time for Samara to start clawing out of the screen. Kurt was the first to reach the door and tried to pull it open, he tried to use the spell then tried to pull it open, but nothing worked.

"Why won't it open?" Kurt shouted. Mercedes screamed behind them and they all turned around to find a decaying girl standing up across them.

"Don't look at her!" Logan commanded and they all looked away. They heard a squishy step in their direction and he shouted again, "The stairs!" They ran towards the thin staircase and tried to fit themselves in. Derek made a mistake of looking back and found Samara glaring up at them at the foot of the stairs. He ran faster. When they reached the second floor, Erin and Sofie shrieked, being face to face with the decaying girl again. She raised her hand and they all ran to the only open door they could find, it led them to an empty room with windows opened.

"Now _that's_ some impressive charmwork." Julian said as he looked out of the window, finding nothing but a black abyss. There was even a slight breeze flowing through. No one paid him attention; they were all too busy cowering away from the door while Logan and Cody tried to close it. It wouldn't budge and Samara was stalking towards them. Julian turned back to them and looked back out. "I think we have to jump."

"Are you _crazy_?" Sofie shouted when she walked over to the window's ledge.

"It's the only way out." Julian shrugged. All of them looked out the window from where they were and peeked over the door after a second.

"Where'd she go?" Justin asked. And then when he leaned back to the wall, she was right in front of him. He closed his eyes and screamed.

"I'm not jumping!" Sofie protested as Logan sent Samara flying to the wall with a well-placed spell. Cody pulled Justin from the wall and ran towards the window.

"Too bad, Princess." Julian smirked and pushed Sofie off the ledge. She screamed like she felt like she was going to die (she really did feel like she was going to die and if she did she vowed to haunt Julian forever and ever). Julian jumped after her. Justin and Cody jumped off before they could make any second guesses (they regretted it almost immediately when they realized that they didn't know where this would lead them).

"Hold me!" Mercedes said quickly to Stella before they jumped in, hugging.

They all managed to jump into the blackness before Samara could get up and torment them again. Falling wasn't the most pleasant feeling in the world, they could all agree to that. They were falling way too fast for their liking and they could imagine themselves as splats at the bottom. They continued screaming until they reached the blackness, where all feeling disappeared and they all felt horribly isolated, except Mercedes and Stella, who were well aware of each other. For the rest, it was cold, it was creepy, and they felt extremely alone. They could hardly breathe, like there was an unseen pressure squeezing their insides. They couldn't see anyone. They couldn't hear anyone except themselves.

* * *

><p>"It's been six minutes, is that normal?" Reed wondered aloud.<p>

The student waiting at the exit door snorted a little bit and they all looked up at him expectantly. He looked down at them and sighed. "They'll be out any minute, yeah? Don't worry." The door flew open and five Gryffindors came out pale and green and absolutely frightened. They really didn't look too well. The boy laughed. "Courage, Gryffs!"

"Fuck off, Morgan." One of the girls said before they ran down the stairs.

"It was only a joke!" He called and leaned back to the wall.

"She said the 'f' word." Brittany whispered to Derek and he patted her shoulder.

"It's just an expression, Brit… For older people."

"She didn't look that much older." She countered.

Before Derek could even form a reply the door burst open again and a harassed looking Sofie threw her hands open. "Freedom!" She looked down and ran towards Brittany, giving her friend a very tight hug. "It was horrible and I don't want to go to this floor ever again!" She hugged Brittany tighter and she looked a bit uncomfortable, which was saying something because Brittany was the huggiest person out of them all. "There was a boggart! It was dreadful! So. Many. _Roaches_. I nearly had a heart attack." They all moved away from the staircase, hoping to be away of the corridor until it was safe again.

"I – I better go." Logan finally said and turned around.

"Break a leg!" The other Derek called.

Reed gasped. "What happened to your shirt?" He touched the tatted back of Kurt's Armani and he honestly thought he was about to cry.

"Some stupid muggle villain called Freddie." Kurt sneered. "Do _not_ be fooled by the name, that's how I got this. Please mend it, Reed."

The smaller boy released his hand from his chest. "Gladly." He said breathily and hurriedly took out his wand to fix the damaged garment. All the while, Rachel went on a scene by scene playback of what happened in rapid conversation for the ones that were willing to listen, Sofie helpfully side-commented as she did. Kurt told them to have the conversation while they walked to the Great Hall.

"Cody… Your eyes look red." Derek (the Hufflepuff one) commented quietly as they walked.

"What? Oh, I'm fine… Just got something in my eye while we ran for our lives in that corridor." He turned away and wiped his eyes for a bit.

Justin leaned into Derek. "He cried."

"Why?"

"When we jumped into this one part, we couldn't feel a thing, hardly see anyone, we could only hear ourselves, Cody spazzed out." He whispered. "When we finally came to, he just went up and hugged me tight, telling me that 'you're my best friend'… Makes sense though since –"

"Justin Johnson, you better not be talking about what I think you're talking about." Cody snapped across them. "You have time to discuss family life when we get back into the dorms." He smiled tightly. "Please?"

"Yeah." Derek nodded. "You two will be going now, right?"

Cody nodded. "Had too much excitement. Have fun at the concert though."

"Say hi to Terry for me… And Codes, if… you know…" Derek said quietly.

"Yes, Derek. I know." Derek winced at the sharpness of his friend's voice and Cody sighed. "I'm sorry… Had to deal with a boggart too you know." The three of them nodded like bobble heads before saying goodbye. Derek walked along with his friends while Justin and Cody walked back to Hufflepuff house, Justin's arm around Cody's shoulders. Rachel finished talking and finally asked what it was like waiting for them.

"Safe." Ella answered with a giggle. "It's good to know that I shall sleep soundly tonight."

Erin snorted. "Not unless I start kicking and screaming in bed. Then you and Brit have to sleep in the same bed as me. It won't be comfortable but then I'll fall asleep."

"I'd rather sleep with the lights _on_, thank you very much." Ella retorted.

Sofie rubbed up and down her arms, still shaking from the memories. "I think I'll sleep beside Regine or Alice tonight. I'm sure neither of them will mind."

"They'll tell you 'told you so' time and time again." Reed nudged her side.

"I know but that's better than closing your eyes alone in your own bed. I'd die of terror before that happens." She shuddered.

"Don't worry, Sofie." Rachel patted her friend on the shoulder. "The music will save us from the frightful thoughts that we are currently having. Music cleanses the soul!" There was a scattered sound of laughter that Rachel, once again, sucked in for her pride.

"What do we do? We've got about forty minutes left until the show starts." Julian announced as they came down another flight of stairs.

"Why? Are you paying?" Kurt joked.

"If that's the case, then I'm craving for some Halloween snacks." Sofie joined in.

"You all suck." Julian muttered, making everyone laugh. "Seriously, what are we going to do now?"

"We could all just… you know, sit outside the Great Hall and talk for a while as we wait for them to let us in." Joshua suggested, everyone looked at him incredulously (except Brittany who was staring at a girl in a painting), as if he couldn't grasp how idiotic the idea could be until of course they all shrugged.

"Alright." Julian said.

"Sounds good to me." Stella seconded.

They all sat in the corner that Reed, Sofie, Kurt, Rachel, Derek, and Brittany frequented during their after meal meet-ups. It was a bit awkward at first, not knowing at to say when they got there but eventually they started talking about their classes and the things that happen in between and during. They all expressed mutual love for Professor Weadell, earning them seven minutes of time passing just by talking about the teacher alone. Then they moved along to what they had in store for the future, afterwards they talked a bit about Quidditch to which Julian, Derek (Seigerson), and Stella supplied most of the conversation, everyone paid attention though. Professor Schue came out of the doors and saw them sitting in the corner and approached them. "Hello!" They greeted him back. "It's about ten minutes before we let everyone in but if you want to come in now, you could." Everyone excitedly jumped their spots and surrendered their Galleons to the Muggle Studies teacher before entering the transformed Great Hall.

The elevated place where the teachers usually sat on was extended to almost half the Hall and there was a huge curtain that covered most of it. Lights flashed behind the fabric and they all smiled with excitement. Some of the Nightingales were sitting on the front rows, either applying make-up, doing vocal exercises, or practicing some dance steps. They all stopped what they were doing for a second to look at the first few of their audience before going back to whatever activity they were doing. There were five Nightingales on stage, waving their wands, making various lights flash from above and putting on finishing touches on the stage charms. There were new seats in the Hall, it was a general violet colour, and all of them were velvet. The place looked about ready to sit more than half the student body.

They found seats on the centre area, on the fourth row of seats so they wouldn't be too close to the stage and they wouldn't be too far. It was pretty much the perfect spot for them to be in, unless someone taller was to sit in front of them (after that thought, they moved to the front row when the girls putting on make-up left for the back stage). It was interesting, watching the Nightingales go about their business before the show. Rachel and Kurt revelled at the opportunity of being inside right before noise drowned out the conversation between choir members (Brittany on the other hand was still staring at the ceiling that was bewitched to look like the night sky, she was still forever fascinated by it). They watched the lights. They watched the effects swirling out from behind the curtains. What magic they could learn from being in this group!

Twenty minutes went by, more students from different years and houses came trickling in. A teacher or two was spotted in some of the seats. The noise grew and grew as more people came in. The excitement filled the air as well; everyone was talking about their favourite performers. Reed handed Sofie her camera back.

"Thank you." She said brightly, trying to push the horrors that tormented them just an hour ago. "Reed, do you still have that film I told you to put in your pocket?"

"Yeah…"

"Good, I want you to be quick when I ask for a new one… Actually, it's better if you just give it to Rachel." She grinned and took a shot of the group on her left then she turned to her right, causing another bright flash. "Lovely."

The lights in the Hall began to dim down and Sofie readied her camera. Everyone quieted when Professor Schue made the opening remarks and how they all helped the club in reaching their goal price for the Portkeys. Finally, he introduced the first performance of the night, a group number with the present Nightingales. Everyone clapped politely as the choir director left the stage and the lights dimmed darker as the music started. There was a single spotlight and someone stepped forward in a tattered looking, but somehow bedazzled, suit. When the music picked up volume, more lights flashed open as the curtain revealed a few eyes glowing in the darkness. The boy in front grinned at everyone and opened his mouth to say the lines, "Twas a long time ago, longer now that it seems in a place that perhaps you've seen in your dreams." Brittany squealed in delight, echoing some of the students in the Hall.

"What is it?" Mercedes asked.

"I know this song!" Brittany answered ecstatically. "Now shhh!"

"For the story you are about to be told took place in the holiday world's old." The boy walked around the stage, hands on his back, the spotlight following him. He had a bit of a nostalgic tone to his voice, something a storyteller would have. "Now, you probably wondered where holidays come from. If you haven't, I'd say it's time you begun." He smirked at the audience and the glowing eyes in the back flashed, they moved forward with the music, revealing that the eyes were from the Nightingales. The boy turned around and went into formation. The students cheered, especially the muggle-borns who were familiar of the song. They started the night with a bang and everyone enjoyed their rendition of "This is Halloween". It was a lively performance for something so dark and a bit morbid but all of them played their parts well. After the number, Logan sat at the piano and began playing a strange sounding tune with intricate notes that hardly seemed possible for a normal person to play. Some Nightingales dashed behind the curtains while most stayed on stage to dance with a partner to the tune of Logan's strange playing.

The night continued on with performances one right after the other. The audience didn't seem to lose their energy and the performers soaked it all up with smiles and songs. It was definitely a night to remember (Sofie took a lot of pictures). How they wanted to stay there and sing forever! Everyone had fun with every single song. At some point during the middle of the concert, everyone got up from their seats and danced along to the song being sung on stage. The performer even pulled a few students in the audience up to the stage to dance. Brittany and Shane were up there, Sofie enjoyed taking pictures of them. It was a wondrous night filled with laughter and merriment. At the end, no one wanted to leave but the teachers insisted that the show has ended but they could always stay until three since that's the time the movies would be over and everyone was forced to bed. It was a good compromise.

* * *

><p>"…I'm getting nervous."<p>

"Rachel Berry? Nervous? Impossible!"

"What if he says no?"

"Ah, but what if he says yes?"

"You didn't answer the question – and don't roll your eyes at me! It is a legitimate question."

"If he says no, then it's a no, Rachel. You've been told 'no' before, haven't you? And besides, it's not like it's a part or a solo. It's just something extra you want to try."

"Yeah, so stop being so nervous!"

"…Do you think rainbows really take you to pots of gold? I used to think they did, even before I found out I was a witch… Reed, can you take me to one?"

"Why are you laughing?"

"Brittany basically called Reed a leprechaun."

"Gee, thanks, Derek, best friends forever!"

"If I didn't know any better, I would've thought you were making fun of Reed's height."

"I would _never_!"

"No need to get red in the face, Brit, we all know you wouldn't insult Reed. Sofie was just joking."

"If you were joking, nudge me or ruffle my hair so I won't get confus –"

"Oh sweet Merlin we're here." They looked up at Potions room that Professor Slughorn resided in. Rachel looked her friends and they all nodded encouragingly. She felt strange, being nervous wasn't really her thing but, for some reason, talking to a teacher all by herself was far too much for her to take. She really needed to work on her people skills. "Alright… I'm going in."

"Rachel," Sofie said, touching her shoulder. "You need to move to actually 'go in'."

"Don't make us push you in, I swear, we'll do it." Kurt threatened.

"Fine!" Rachel immediately said. "I'll go now." With that, she entered the empty classroom and walked to the kind professor's room with newly found confidence. Her friends watched as she knocked on the door. She looked back at them as the door opened and they smiled at her, giving her thumbs up.

"Rachel, my dear, what brings you to my office?" Professor Slughorn asked. "Do come in." When he closed the door behind him, he smiled amiably at the girl. "Is this because of the 'singing' problems with your house? Because I've told you quite a few times that you –"

"Professor Slughorn, I didn't come here for that." She interrupted. She didn't want to get into to it (again), but she does forget that she was banned from singing in the common room since it "distracted" (annoyed) most of the Slytherins. "I just wanted to ask for your permission for something, sir."

"For what?" He asked, feeling a bit anxious when he remembered something from so many years ago. He hoped that he wasn't dealing with the next Dark Lord, jilted because of her house disliking her singing tendencies.

"I want to make a potion to make me grow taller." She answered.

He inwardly sighed, relieved that it wasn't something dark and vague. "Why would you do that, Rachel? I think you're perfect as you are. And who knows, you might grow in a few years."

"…I know. But I want to do it for experiment's sake. I want to try something out. Maybe gain points for it?" She said hopefully. The thought of being "considered" more attractive if she were taller flitted across her mind. Then she remembered the advantages of being taller (or at least average sized) to her dreams of stardom. She smiled her winning smile for the professor while waiting for his reply.

"You know you could get hurt."

"I could do extensive research on the ingredients I'm using and my friends will assist me in making the potion. We are very good with first aid magic, due to Reed's – erm – thing. They could also take me to the Hospital Wing when the time arises (which reminds me, if you let me – us do this, could we have a room near the Wing itself?)" She sat down on one of the chairs. "They're fully capable of carrying me." She hoped she sounded professional and mature enough. Slughorn pondered about it for a minute before turning to the girl again.

"You _are_ one of my brightest pupils…And you're going to be with Hummel, I assume?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

He smiled and shrugged. "Well, I don't know why not. Very well, I shall give you permission to brew this potion of yours. And I'll give you points if you are successful. Come by my office tomorrow and I'll give you the room you'll need and some books I suggest you take a look in for your ingredients. Tell me once you've prepared a list of ingredients and a procedure. I'll have a look and give some corrections if needed. I'm certain that the first one won't be the last so don't hesitate to come in if the potion fails, alright?"

She was already grinning as the professor spoke. The prospect of making her own potion was exciting. "Yes, professor."

"Also, I wish that you bring your friends along every time you brew, for safety reasons." He added, worriedly.

"It will be their pleasure, sir." She said happily and stood up from the chair. "Will that be all?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Professor Slughorn! I'll try to do my best!" She waved goodbye before going out of the door. Her friends were waiting at the end of the classroom, sitting on the empty desks. "I got permission!" She announced gaily.

Brittany squealed and hugged her friend. "Excellent! When are you starting?"

"I start research tomorrow." She wrapped one of her arms with Brittany's as they exited the room. "You're all invited."

"Oh yay, school work without the points!" Sofie joked.

"Actually there _are_ points if we get it right, so if –" There was a crash in front of them, someone fell out of a room. A flash of bright light came from the room and the figure blocked it noiselessly.

"What the _bloody hell_ was that all about?" Lux shouted.

"Oh I don't know, maybe it was because you were raising your _wand_ at me, you git!" Ed walked out of the room, looking haggard, looking like he's barely gotten any sleep. They paid no attention to the second years watching the scene unfold with fear. "I just had about e-fucking-nough of your bullshit, Bellmore!"

"It's not my fault –"

"That _while_ I'm trying to study, you _scream_ at me about this one insignificant boy _talking_ to me? We just _talked_ Lux! There wasn't any flirting going on! Everyone knows that you're my boyfriend!" Ed shouted. "I can't believe you turned into such a jealous prat!"

"And you turned into an overreactive bitch!" Lux retorted, standing up from the floor.

"Have I? _Have I_?" Ed glared, raising his wand at him.

"Yeah!"

"Bollocks!"

"Yeah you are, mate. You get mad over the smallest things! Does _nothing_ please you? It was just a glass of spilled pumpkin juice!"

"It was all over _my notes_!"

"Are you a wizard or not? There's a fucking _spell_ for that you know!"

"Why are you bringing this up? No one's perfect and I was having a bad day!"

"You're _always_ having a bad day."

"Yeah, since my fucking _boyfriend_ doesn't do shit to make it better."

"You're the one _killing_ yourself with those books!"

The second years stared in terror, unable to move. "I think we should move." Kurt whispered, pulling at the back of his friends' robes and crept slowly backwards. The fighting couple continued to argue as the six of them backed away, seemingly unnoticed.

" – so annoying when I'm trying to study, you're like a fucking _child_ Lux!" Ed ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "You know how hard it is to study for O.W.L.'s!"

"Well I wouldn't have to _throw_ myself at you all the time if you just paid attention to me and not some slag of a boy –"

"Pay attention? Pay _attention_? I pay attention to you all the time! And don't go around calling someone a slag, what if he was my friend? Would you be so jealous and prissy then? Don't go accusing _me_ of being unfaithful, Lux!" Ed sobbed at that last word, feeling quite hurt at the mere thought of Lux thinking that he was cheating. "Because I'm _not_ that kind of person who cheats on someone!" Angry tears started to spill from his eyes. "I can't _believe_ you!

The second years stopped walking backwards, noticing the tears spilling out. They felt a wave of sympathy, especially Reed and Sofie; they were deciding whether or not they should just break the whole thing up and make things calm. As lowly second years, it was unquestionably impossible for them to do such a thing, even if one was of their house and the other was Rachel's prefect.

"I can't believe you think that I-I would do such a thing to _you_!" Ed continued. "D-Did those _nine months_ mean _nothing_ to you?" At that point, Ed was shaking, both with angry tears and sad ones. Lux's rage cooled and he started to feel terrible about what he's sad and done. He bit his lips together and inched closer. "What? Got nothing to say now?" Ed spat.

"Babe…" Lux reached out, apology at the tip of his tongue.

Ed backed away, rubbing his eyes, still mad at Lux. "You know what? Fuck you, Luxor. Fuck you. _Stupefy!_ Fuck you. _Impedimenta!_ Fuck you. _Expelliarmus!_ Fuck you!" The Slytherin was backed up against the wall, having easily blocked every spell that the Ravenclaw threw at him though nothing could stop him from seeing the hurt from the other. _What have I done? _He thought as Ed wordlessly turned around and mended the door, allowing him to slam it right afterwards. Lux's wand hand went limp after a few seconds of bated breath and he continued sliding down the wall, feeling quite like shit.

The second years watched, unsure what to do next. "Should we –" Derek asked but then Lux looked up, staring at them. They saw it all. He didn't know if he should be mad or embarrassed. Six of them had wide eyed expressions with different emotions etched on their faces, he decided to be mad for a bit.

"Well, what are you standing here for? Go away!" He shouted and all of them ran off to the nearest flight of stairs away from the dungeons. He looked back at the door and bit back tears. He knew Ed would be too angry to open the door. He knew there wouldn't be another chance, at least not now. He screwed up. There was nothing he could do now except slam his head against the wall and accept defeat. As a Slytherin, defeat wasn't an option, and this just tore him apart metaphorical limb to metaphorical limb.

On the other side of the door lied Ed, crying his eyes out, feeling absolutely worthless and bitter. He couldn't comprehend how untrusting Lux could be. He didn't understand why he had to endure this kind of suffering. He heard Lux walk away from the door; he hoped that the Slytherin felt bad. _Serves him right for accusing me of something so incredulous_. At the same time, he hoped that Lux would've at least put in an apology, at least just once. It would've been nice, though once he thought about it he wouldn't really take the bastard back. He laughed at the irony. Lux didn't apologize, he didn't even ask to be let back in the room, he just…left.

And so with that, their relationship ended.

* * *

><p>"Well <em>that<em> was traumatizing." Sofie admitted as they finally saw the light of day again. "See, that's why I'll never get married. It's too messy."

"Says the girl who has a different group of crushes every week." Kurt commented, earning a glare from the dark haired girl. "What? It's true, don't deny it." Sofie just rolled her eyes even if it was the true, afterwards she laughed.

"Ah, well. What can you do? Now on to happier – I guess you can call it happier – subject. When are we starting the whole research thing again?"

Rachel smiled again. "Tomorrow after class, hopefully. I'd love for you to join me. Besides, that's one of the conditions Professor Slughorn gave me, to have my friends around while I'm brewing the potion, and by extension you join me, at least, for the research just in case I make a mistake of picking a wrong ingredient. Though I hardly would think that would happen since I'm very discerning about –"

"We get it, we'll join you." Kurt interjected.

"It'll be fun." Derek added.

"You think _all_ books are fun." Sofie said, with a bit of groaning in the end.

"That's not true. I don't exactly enjoy dictionaries and I'm pretty sure those Dark Arts books are scary, which is the opposite of fun." Derek defended as they walked down the corridors. "So to correct your statement, _most_ books are fun."

"Wow Mr. Defensive, calm down." Reed laughed and patted his friend's hair. "No one's attacking the books." He turned to Rachel. "Derek and I are on board, Ms. Berry."

"Brit and I are going to be your cheerleaders, offering the occasional input. And I could help you look for books." Sofie grinned. "The library isn't so bad, after all."

"It'll be better," Brittany put an arm around Sofie and Rachel, "because we're all there." Rachel laughed and they continued walking down the corridor, the boys throwing their arms around the nearest friend available. Hardly anyone was in their way so they walked freely in one line with their arms around each other, feeling like idiots, but happy idiots. The earlier scene almost forgotten with their camaraderie, it was always easier to be happy when they were together, all of them.

* * *

><p>The next day, after classes and after getting the book list from Professor Slughorn, the six friends cooped themselves on one library table. They all took the ten books from the shelves and put them on the table to read. They needed ingredients that could alter body composition without harming the person too much. The Polyjuice Potion was a good place to start and they researched and researched for which and what herbs could cause the body to grow or shrink. Everyone was helpful one way or the other, Kurt chastised Rachel for putting too much lacewing flies, Derek read a lot, even the higher level books, Sofie found the books, while Reed and Brittany tried to calm everyone down when someone snapped a little bit. It took the whole week for them to piece together a decent draft of the growth potion. They still had to show it to Professor Slughorn. It was just in time for the first Quidditch game of the season (Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor). They left the parchment on the teacher's desk before running off to the pitch.<p>

"To the Hufflepuff side of it all!" Brittany announced as they approached.

"No! Gryffindor!" Kurt protested though he continued to smile and he grabbed Brittany's hand. "It'll be funner there!"

"Says you! You haven't seated with the Puffs yet!" She laughed again as Derek countered Kurt's protest. "It'll be a new experience for all of you."

"Must we do this every Quidditch match?" Reed asked, bringing his head onto his hand, chuckling a little bit at his friends' shenanigans. "The game's about to start and we're standing around picking a side to _sit_ on."

"It matters, Reed. It matters." Sofie said, placing a hand on her fellow Ravenclaw's shoulder. "You should know that by now." They shared a smile and watched as they tried to convince Kurt to go to the Hufflepuff side. Kurt was just protesting just to watch the two of them force him. Rachel kept on mentioning Slytherin almost half-heartedly; she knew they were all going to Hufflepuff anyway. Reed and Sofie just stayed back, watching their friends make fools of themselves, having fun while doing so. But, unfortunately, someone just had to ruin the ride with a snide comment.

"Why are we even watching? We all know Gryffindor's going to win." The six of them stiffened. "I mean seriously, the Hufflepuffs are easy losers." They don't think the conversation was supposed to be heard. They gave the speaker, a Ravenclaw among a couple of others and a Slytherin, a quick glance before turning away. They obviously couldn't win a fight with those brutes, even _with_ magic.

"Yeah, I know, but it'd be still a right good game, watching the Gryffs pound those Puffs." The Slytherin chuckled. Brittany, unlike her other friends, was still staring with sad, sad eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It just hurt her fragile little heart that someone could say those mean words. "Let's face it. The Puffs are just useless." The others laughed.

"Got that right, I'd rather be a Muggle than a Puff."

"I feel sorry of the ones there, really." One of the Ravenclaws said. "I wouldn't know what to feel if _I _was sorted into the leftover house." They laughed again.

"Oi!" One Raveclaw girl shouted, spying Brittany looking at them with a crestfallen expression. "What are you looking at, Blondie?"

"Let's go Brit." Derek muttered. She turned away immediately and walked with her friends. Rachel and Sofie shot a mean look over their shoulders before stalking off. The older students just rolled their eyes and shared a bit of a laugh about "that little blonde one". They seemed to be amused by the hurt they've caused. After a few seconds they shrugged it off and went up to the stands.

Meanwhile, Brittany was on the verge of crying. Derek was holding her near him as they walked to the Hufflepuff side of the pitch, he didn't know what to say to be able to console her. He immediately felt bad when he couldn't utter a word to make his friend feel better so he just pulled her closer to him. "There, there." _Really Breaker? Really?_

"It's not fair. It's not fair! How can they say that?" Brittany's voice shook.

"Me too." Derek whispered. _Still not helping, you idiot._

"Yeah, it's as if loyalty and trustworthiness means nothing." Rachel huffed. "As if fair play and friendliness means nothing anymore." She leaned against one of the walls below the pitch. "Urgh, I hate that we had to hear that."

"At least it goes to show not everyone's a friend." Sofie said coldly, walking toward Brittany's side. "Brit, it's okay… Don't listen to them; they're just a bunch of thick gits who have no respect for other people or other values."

"You're the pureblood." Brittany muttered, almost angrily. "Are _we really_ the leftover house?"

"No." Sofie said firmly. "And don't _ever_ think you are."

"She's right." Kurt added. "I see a lot of Hufflepuffs getting really high marks, just by sheer hard work and they don't even brag about it. I know I would." He added a chuckle in the end, making Brittany smile slightly. "Don't listen to those idiots, Brit, Hufflepuffs are brilliant."

"…How can they be idiots when some of them are Ravenclaws?" She asked, wiping some of the tears away.

"There are more ways of being an idiot other than being dumb." Sofie booped Brittany's nose and she grinned. "Now, come on, let's get up there and cheer for the Puffs, yeah?"

"Yeah!" Brittany got back her old sunshine. "But I gotta go do something first, if that's okay?"

"What are you going to do, Brit?" Reed asked.

She didn't answer; instead she grabbed Derek and Sofie's hands and pulled them from the pitch entrance. The others followed her. She led them to the locker rooms just in the middle of the pitch and she knocked eagerly on the door, hoping for someone to answer. Her friends didn't question her motives since they were sure it was something that would benefit the Hufflepuff team. They even helped her knock the second time when no one answered. The door opened to reveal the Seeker, Allison Lovett. She recognized Derek and Brittany right away.

"Oh hey loves, what brings you 'round here?" She asked. "The games about to start you know."

"Ally, who is it?" Someone called behind her.

"It's just Brittany and her mates, James!"

"What do they want? The game's about to start." James asked again.

"I told them." She called again before turning to the second years. "What is it, love?" Brittany almost tackled her into the ground with a very tight hug. Allison was quite surprised by the sudden wave of affection but returned it nonetheless. "Thanks for the hug."

"I know the game's about to start but can you give the rest a hug from me, please?" Brittany asked looking up at her fellow Puff. Allison couldn't bear to say no. "And please tell them that me and my mates are supporting you every step of the way, even if they aren't Hufflepuffs like us." The others nodded, punctuating Brittany's sentence. "And that we believe in you so much. Also, beat the Gryffs into the ground."

"But not too hard, please." Kurt added, making Allison laugh.

"That's a very nice gesture, Brittany." She hugged the girl again before letting go. "Now, off you go, wouldn't want you to miss the game, yeah?"

"Good luck" was repeated six times before they left for the pitch entrance. Allison looked after them before she went back into the room. Their captain, Marcus Porter, was giving the team another pep talk before the game when Allison came back in. It suddenly went quiet in the room. "So," Marcus asked, "what'd they want?" The Seeker repeated what had transpired and the team immediately felt the love that the girl had given them.

"Ain't that sweet? I remember her on her first day in Hufflepuff." Jenkin said with his ever present smile. "I love that girl, don't you? She's always so bubbly and adorable."

"Careful now, Kinny." Allison giggled. "She's four years your junior."

They shared a laugh. "It's so refreshing to see kids from other houses getting together. Her mates are quite a bunch, don't you think?" Chase, one of the Beaters, said. "Makes me have hope for the future." They all muttered their assent, having been the butt of a Puff joke once or twice in their stay at Hogwarts. It wasn't the most pleasant experiences in the world, that's for sure, but at least they had their fellowpuffs with them. But seeing a group of kids from different houses bonding like that, it just makes them happier on the inside.

"Are you ready for the first Quidditch game of the season?" They heard Gwen shout from above their heads, the crowd cheered. "I share your sentiments!" She laughed. "Shall I now call on the Hufflepuff?" More cheers sounded over the boos as the team stood up and picked up their brooms.

"Remember what Brittany said." Jenkin announced as the doors flew open for them. "Let's bring those Gryffs down!"

"Yeah!" The team roared before mounting their brooms and flying out.

* * *

><p>The pitch was packed as it's always been every Quidditch game, save the Nightingales who were all the way in Germany at that moment. Supporters cheered and booed as much as they could when the players came out. Though most everybody betted that Gryffindor would win, only some showed their bias and the others were polite to the Hufflepuffs. The game started in Gryffindor's favour, to much of the Hufflepuffs' dismay, however their cheering went undeterred.<p>

"Cook has possession of the Quaffle. She's passed it to Porter. Ooh! That was a close Bludger call! Her brother should've been more careful with his bat. She passes to Prynce. Prynce passes back to Porter, she shoots! Score! Ten more points to Gryffindor!" The Gryffs were _destroying_ the Hufflepuffs, hundred to ten. But the Puffs wouldn't give up. They just won't give up without a fight. Jenkin took the Quaffle in the air and Marcus flew next to him, so did Alexander, one of the chasers.

"Don't you think we've been a bit too complacent?" Alexander asked his team captain as Jenkin passed the Quaffle.

"Time to bring it on?" Jenkin said excitedly, practically bouncing on his broom.

"Time to bring it on." Marcus nodded.

"Finally." Alexander grinned broadly, shooting off to the Gryffindor's post. Marcus whistled for Allison – their secret weapon of Snitch finding – and signalled her to keep her eye for the Snitch. She smirked and nodded. In their private trainings, she could spot the Snitch from the other side of the pitch and once she's spotted it, she'll know where it is at all times. How she did it, they didn't know exactly but no one else knew it except the Hufflepuffs. Marcus grinned back and flew off to do his Beater duties. Jenkin gripped his broom tighter, watching the Chasers pass the Quaffle around.

"Valiente has the possession of the Quaffle, dodging every stealing attempt of the Gryffindors. That's right good broom work. Oh! He's dropped the Quaffle! That was – amazing, Honeycutt took it right before the Gryffindors noticed!" James flew near the Gryffindor goal hoops, leaving the Gryffindors in the dust, with a two feet distance and that really irked the Chasers. James shot up into the sky, surprising his pursuers for a second, which was enough for him to do a summersault, throwing the Quaffle into Alexander's waiting hands. Spencer's eyes were distracted by James's sensational flip that he was a second too late to defend his hoop.

He swore and flew down to catch the ball. He passed it to Nate and he flew off, passing the Quaffle left and right, confusing the Hufflepuffs for a little bit. No one was able to grab it from the Gryffindors when they reached the Hufflepuffs' half of the pitch. But as the ball flew through the air, awaiting its landing into Miranda's hands, Joseph kicked it across the air, James caught it nimbly. He shot back to the Gryffindor's side with Alexander at his side. The two twisted in the air (the crowd practically gasped when James flew upside down), making the Beaters unable to get a Bludger to hit them easily. They kept passing the ball in between them in a peculiar way that may have looked a little intimate to the spectators.

"Fags!" Someone called, earning a bit of glares, a bit of laughs. That didn't stop Alexander and James staying in close proximity. They only separated when they were near the posts, Spencer couldn't tell who had the Quaffle until he saw Alexander getting ready to shoot from his left. Spencer dove to the left goal when Alexander made the shot (then, for some reason, left the scoring area immediately) but James beat him to the punch and grabbed the Quaffle before the Keeper could. He then threw it to the centre post. The Hufflepuffs cheered.

"What the hell was that?" Spencer shouted when he passed the Quaffle to Miranda's hands.

James smirked. "Strategy." He said and flew off, hoping they could keep that piece of gold strategy for at least five more times. They followed the Quaffle to the other side of the pitch.

Nate had the Quaffle, dodging the bludgers easily as he made his way towards the Hufflepuffs' goals. Jenkin stared at him with much strange intensity that Nate started to feel unsettled as he flew closer. _Get yourself together Prynce._ He thought. _Stop letting that weird stare get to you._ He raised the Quaffle and shot it with precision. He was sure that he got that shot in the bag, which is why he was almost thrown off his broom when Jenkin caught the Quaffle right before it went into the goal.

"Not today, Prynce." Jenkin said brightly when he passed the Quaffle back to Joseph, who passed it to James. "We're here to win, you know."

Nate smiled back. "Bring it, Puff."

Jenkin shrugged. "We intend to."

After that moment, the Gryffindors weren't able to score more than two more goals. Jenkins held the goals with unreal calm and exactness. _Nothing_ went through him. The Chasers grew uncomfortable to see his unnerving brown eyed gaze; it was like he was looking into their minds. Though the Hufflepuffs found it difficult to get through the opposing team's defences, it wasn't impossible. They weaselled around everything the Gryffindors threw at them, it was almost unreal. They honestly expected an easy match but the Hufflepuffs just wouldn't stop doing their strange strategies. They were flying near the grass, they were doing circles around them, they were did their twist maneuver without any warning. They had the Gryffindors on their toes (brooms), as well as the spectators. They weren't expecting the creativity the Hufflepuffs were showing with the strategies that it amazed even the Ravenclaws.

Joseph had the Quaffle tucked under his arm, his fellow Chasers flanking him a few feet away. The opposing Chasers were trying to tackle the ball out of his grip unsuccessfully. They kept bumping into each other with Joseph dodging every hit they intended to do. Alisha swore every time. "Watch your mouth, Cook." Joseph joked after she hit Nate twice in a row. "There are children below us."

"Fuck off, Valiente." She glared.

"Alrighty then." He said and threw the ball into the air. It sailed four feet above them and the three Chasers made a grab for it. Just inches before Miranda could successfully grab the ball, Alexander intercepted it; a second later the three Gryffindors hit each other violently causing Nate to fall of his broom. Alisha swore again. "That's going to leave a nasty mark." Gwen side commented then became the receiving end of Alisha's glare. "I'm just commenting, jeez. On your side, remember?" She muttered away from the microphone. Joseph caught Nate mid-fall at the same time Hufflepuff tied the score a hundred and twenty to a hundred and twenty. The Hufflepuffs went wild. They were all waving their flags proudly in the air, unable to contain themselves. The team accepted it cordially, grinning at the lot of them. Chase, however, was egging them on, prompting them with hand gestures. "Louder, louder!" He said and they did go louder.

Brittany even started a cheer. "Go! Go Puffs, go, go, go Puffs! Go! Go Puffs, go, go, go Puffs!" Everyone on Hufflepuff side were chanting it, overpowering the cheers that came from Gryffindor. The Quaffle was passed back and forth; no one was able to even try to shoot a goal. Marcus noticed the pattern and whistled for Allison again. She was flitting along the stands, complacently looking around even though she knew the Snitch was over the Slytherins' heads (which was right across her at that moment). But she didn't want to give the Gryffindor Seeker, Mitch Holmes, any idea that she knew where it was. She looked at her captain. "Wrap it up." He mouthed and she did a salute.

She suddenly looked up at the sky and shot through the air, urging Mitch to follow her. "Looks like Lovett has spotted the Snitch!" Everyone looked up to the Seekers. She increased her speed, feigning urgency to catch a non-existent Snitch, making Mitch do the same. Allison raised her hand as if she was near the small, golden ball. Mitch squinted, wondering why he couldn't see the ball himself. The spectators were equally perplexed. She turned left quickly and was hidden from Mitch's view by a column. He followed her, hoping to overtake his opponent. Though once he was out of the pitch's proximity, he couldn't seem to see the blonde Seeker anywhere.

"In the pitch, you arse!" Someone shouted, making Mitch turn his broom around to find Allison weaving around near the grass. He tried to follow her but then a Bludger got in the way, knocking him off his broom (the second year in a row), causing the crowd to gasp. The students in front leaned over the railing, watching helplessly as the Gryffindor Seeker fell. He was saved from certain death by his teammate, a Beater named Shawn.

Meanwhile, Allison caught the Snitch. She held it up high as Gwen announced, "Allison Lovett caught the Snitch! Hufflepuff wins the first game of the season!" There were disgruntled groans that were drowned out my Hufflepuff's cheer. Gwen sighed and replaced her microphone while the Hufflepuffs ran down the stands to greet their champions with a great big hug. She turned to her fellow prefect, Rick, who suggested that he join her on her commentary. "Damn it, it's like every team I bet for, they lose. I'm like a bad luck charm."

Rick smirked. "Don't let them hear that, they'll form a lynch mob." _Okay I'm going to say it. I'm going to say it now._ "Will you go out with me?" _I said it. I shouldn't have said that._

The question was sudden and uncalled for, Gwen's eyes grew wide. Rick held his breath; he did his best with what his roommates told him to do. "Ask her out like it was part of the conversation, mate." And he decided that it was now or never. _This was dumb. Why did you say that? You shouldn't have said that. _"What?" She asked, still in complete shock that this idiot, this bumbling, adorable, annoying idiot decided to ask her out. "Say that again."

"Will you go out with me? You know on a date."

"What?" She asked again, still finding the situation impossible to be real. She never knew Rick liked her that way. They've been mates since first year; she didn't know they were one of those mates who were taking "the next step".

"You know you could just say no." Rick said awkwardly. "It'll be fine. Haven't got much planned anyway…"

"Yes."

"Yes?" Rick grinned.

"Yes, and you better make it good or else you'd be wasting my time." She blushed when she saw Rick's eyes light up like they never did before.

"Hogsmeade? Tomorrow?"

"It's a date." She almost giggled but she wasn't going to do that because she isn't one of those flustered girls who can't form a sentence with someone who asked her out on the date (and she was having trouble keeping that up). Rick kept his goofy grin and winked at her.

"A date!" They teetered noiselessly, unable to move just yet. They watched each other with toothy smiles and blushing faces. Were they supposed to hold hands and walk down together? Were they to link arms then? Would that be too formal? All these questions seemed to come out of nowhere since they've been on a few dates before but somehow it seemed all too important _now_. Rick was the first to move, sweeping his hand and presented the stairs. "After you, Gwen." The girl rolled her eyes playfully and thanked him before walking down, the boy followed immediately.

Back down in the pitch, the Hufflepuff team was accepting their celebratory hugs, the tightest of which came from a certain blonde girl by the name of Brittany. She was happy, that much was certain, when Hufflepuff won. And even though she was very smug to show those bullies that the Puffs could handle their own, she didn't rub it in their faces (mostly because that's not something she would do, partly because she couldn't find them in the fray of happy Hufflepuffs). Most of the Gryffindor team congratulated the winners; some of them brought their captain to the Hospital Wing, the Bludger having broken most of his ribs. There was a round of polite handshakes and jokes before the team went back to their houses. The Gryffindors were met with pats on the back again while the Hufflepuffs were met with cheering. Later that night, there was a quiet celebration among the Hufflepuffs. They didn't go all out since it was only the first game of the season, but it was a still no less of a victory.

* * *

><p>"Just so you know," Sofie started, "when I go to your funeral, I'm gonna wear white because I have these pair of shoes I've been <em>dying<em> to wear and white's the appropriate thing to wear with them. And I'm going to bring tissues for people beside me. Oh, I'm not going to cry, I'm going to wear make-up and I don't want it to get ruined. But I'm going to sit in front! And bring loads and loads of roses for you, I swear!" Derek nudged Sofie's side. "What? I'm being realistic."

"Rachel's not going to die, Sof." Kurt said. Rachel was just staring at the small black haired, blue eyed girl sitting on one of the desk. She was amused, obviously, Sofie was hilarious but at the same time she was now frightened to take the first brew of their potion.

"That's not what the ounce of iron said." Sofie retorted.

"Take the concoction, Rach." He said, ignoring Sofie's reply. Rachel nodded and took a long sip from the goblet she brought. They all worked extremely hard for this potion and they hoped there would be at least _some _growing. Nothing happened for the first few seconds.

"How do you feel?" Brittany asked, feeling more and more apprehensive with every passing second.

"I don't know… Shouldn't something be happening right no – _oh_!" Rachel's arm started to shake on its own and suddenly her other one started to do the same. Reed opened the door, getting ready to rush Rachel out of the room at any given moment. Derek and Kurt went near her but she held up her shaking hands. "It doesn't hurt! It doesn't hurt! I'm fine… Let's just see what ha –" Her right arm shot out and grew five feet longer than usual. The other did the same before falling limp on the floor. They waited for something else to happen, like the arms exploding, but nothing else happened and Rachel sighed. "Someone write this down or something. We need to look over the ingredients and procedures." Sofie and Brittany nodded and started writing things down. "You two," she said to Derek and Kurt, "bring me to the Hospital Wing… I hope nobody sees me like this." She tried to raise her arms but they proved too long for her strength to raise them herself. "Brilliant." The two boys picked up her arms and they walked out the door in a sideways motion.

"It's okay. It was a pretty good first try." Derek said as they walked toward the wing. "At least _something_ grew."

"He's right." Kurt said encouragingly, patting Rachel's elongated hand in his arms. "We can try again next week after we figure out what's wrong."

"I think we put in too much Boomslang." She mused, mulling over the ingredients again in her head.

Two weeks after that, they tried again. They consulted Professor Slughorn immediately after the arm incident and he gave them a quick lecture on how the smallest of things could alter the potion in a huge way. They took a week to research again before deciding to take away some of the Boomslang skin and adding a bit more of porcupine quills, as well as infusion of Wormwood. Brittany suggested crushed unicorn horn so that it would protect Rachel from any sort of side effects. This was rebuffed gently by Sofie.

The side effect of their latest concoction wasn't as glamorous as the first.

Rachel looked at her friends expectantly. She felt nothing in the thirty seconds she was standing in the room. "So?" She finally asked. "Do you think something's going to happen?" They all bit their lips together, hoping to stifle their laughter. Kurt, Sofie, and Brittany were practically shaking from where they were standing. Rachel shot them a perplexed look, feeling as if something's gone amiss even though she doesn't really _feel_ anything wrong. "What?" She demanded, crossing her arms on her chest, growing annoyed.

"Rach." Derek chuckled and bumped his index finger against his nose two times.

"Wha – _bloody hell_!" She touched her nose and found out that it swelled three times its size. "As if it wasn't huge to begin with!" She rolled her eyes when she noticed that her friends were trying so hard not to laugh. "Well go on then, laugh. It's fine." She said indignantly but the anger went unnoticed when the five of them keeled over laughing.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Reed managed to breathe out before laughing again.

Rachel groaned. "I'll just bring _myself_ to Hospital Wing then." She stalked towards the door and when she opened it Santana and Puck gasped, the former threw herself to the wall. "Oh great." Rachel muttered right before the other Slytherin burst into a laughing fit, soon followed her Gryffindor friend. Their laughs were so contagious that her friends started to laugh harder. She huffed again and stomped towards the wing. They all stood up, still laughing, and ran after her, hoping to apologize immediately.

"Sorry!" Puck called, but could barely be understood amidst his laughter.

"Thank you!" Santana laughed, wiping a tear from under her eye. "Thank you for making my day!" She called after them as they walked by.

"No problem!" Brittany said after turning around. She did a quick wave for Santana before turning around to follow her friends.

"Rach! Rachel!" Sofie said over the laughter. "We're sorry! We didn't _mean_ to laugh!"

It was a cycle. After going to Madam Pomfrey and cleaning the room they were mixing the potion in, they immediately went to Professor Slughorn for advice where he would go on about the properties of the ingredients as well as giving suggestions to make the potion better. Then the six friends would again put themselves into research mode amidst their current workload. They managed to get by, passing around each other's parchment for help (it wasn't cheating, it was teamwork). They found a rhythm to their work and found it easier to do assignments like that. Before the week ended, they managed to create another potion.

"Last potion of the year, mates." Rachel said. "Make it count."

"I don't know why we _all_ have to do this." Reed asked apprehensively. "We could all be incapacitated if we drink this. One of us _should_ just watch –"

"Oh just drink it." Sofie said, swirling the potion around in her cup before drinking it. The rest followed her example and waited for the effects to kick in. There was neither a tingle nor a tremble for a whole minute.

"…Do any of you feel different?" Kurt asked everyone shook their heads.

"Huh, I wonder what this one does." Rachel wondered aloud before setting her glass down.

Brittany gasped and started clapping. "Oh my gosh, Sofie!"

"What? What is it?" Sofie asked frantically turning around and touching her face.

"Your head, silly!"

"My – oh sweet Granger, what is this?"

"They're… They're wings!" Derek observed as he touched his head. Everyone looked up at each other's heads and found that all of them had a pair of snowy white wings on their heads. "The potion made us sprout wings on our heads!"

"Now _this_ doesn't make _any_ sense at all." Rachel said touching them for herself.

Brittany already found out how to make them flutter as she turned to Rachel. "I think they're adorable."

"I have _got_ to take a picture of this." Sofie giggled, running towards her bag and took out the camera she never let go of. She turned the self-timer on and ran towards her friends. "Big smiles everyone! This is going to be one of the better photos." As she said that, the wings on top of her head flapped eagerly, so eagerly, in fact, that some feathers flew loose. Rachel was reluctant at first but she didn't want to be the only surly one in the picture (no one would let her hear the end of it when they grew up, she knew as much). She smiled just in time for the camera to flash. "Okay, I reckon I've got enough pictures of you to last me the holiday break."

"Let's go to Madam Pomfrey and get these things off of us." Reed prompted as Derek opened the door.

"These still don't make any sense. How on Earth did we manage to make a potion that will make you sprout wings on your head?" Rachel complained as they got out of the room, earning some surprised looks from the students passing by.

"I'm telling you, they're cute and I might keep mine." Brittany rubbed the wings on her head.

"Brit… I don't think your parents would like that very much." Derek said gently while patting her head.

She pouted for a bit as they walked but finally she nodded. "You're right. Mum would freak out."

* * *

><p>That year, they left Reed and Derek by themselves at Hogwarts for the holiday break. Kurt was to go home with his step-brother to have a good old Christmas and New Year with the family. As much as he didn't think it was a great idea, he was forced home. Sofie and her family were going to France to visit some more family members. She excitedly mentioned her French Boy, Elias, hoping to see him again. She also talked about polishing her French while she was there. Rachel and Brittany were, once again, compelled to go home. Rachel left because they had a tradition to upkeep and she didn't feel like breaking the tradition any time soon. She did plan on telling her fathers, extensively, about her potion brewing, hoping to get some advice. Brittany left because her parents were still uneasy about leaving her alone in the wizarding world for too long, especially Christmas time. The four friends promised to write to the other two, chronicling their experience with their families during the holidays. The letters were expected to arrive before New Year. In return, Reed and Derek would reply to the letters as soon as they could. They couldn't go home since their parents were too busy those days (mostly Reed's parents, Hilde and Winston, and Derek didn't want to leave him behind at all) so again, they wouldn't be able to enjoy Christmas and New Year to its full extent if they were to go home. Their parents thought the same and allowed their children to stay at Hogwarts.<p>

"I'll miss you two so much! Don't forget to tell us everything." Brittany said as she hugged the two tightly against her. "Be safe, alright?" She turned to Reed with an exceptionally worried face. _Dear Potter, she's more worried than Mum ever was! _"Alright?"

"Alright, Brit." Reed smiled and gave her another squeeze.

"You be careful with him, Derek." Kurt said, unconsciously fixing Derek's scarf. "We'd like to come back to find him with less than five injuries."

"When did all of you start being parents?" Derek sniggled. "I mean seriously."

"Well since we met the ever-so _graceful_ Reed Van Kamp." Sofie replied sarcastically, patting the strawberry blond head. Reed tried to swat her off playfully. "Goodbye, you two. We'll see you in a couple of weeks, yeah? The carriage awaits." And with that, she flitted off into the white abyss. Rachel gave them a quick peck on the cheek and flitted away too. Derek and Reed waved goodbye until they were out of sight.

Derek sighed and Reed leaned his head on his friend's shoulder. "Just you and me now."

"Just like old times?" Derek said wistfully, still looking into the snowy distance.

"Yup."

"Let's go get some tea and cookies in the kitchens."

"Sounds like fun." When they turned around, they were immediately blocked by Reed's prefect, Trish, who was suddenly kissing Chase, one of Hufflepuff's beaters. They stood there shocked and unable to move.

"Ew! Trish!" Terry whined, completely embarrassed that his sister was kissing her boyfriend right in front of everyone.

"Oi!" Audrey slapped her friend on the backside of her head. Evan and Ethan also shot a couple of Nerf bullets at the lovers' faces then laughing at the reaction.

"Ow! You're ruining moment here!" Trish protested. Audrey gave her a pointed look making Trish look down at the second years staring at them then she turned her head around to see the others watching. "Shit." She whispered.

"Yeah," Audrey said, "bring your _love_ elsewhere, yeah?"

"Sorry!" Trish announced.

Reed and Derek walked stiffly pass the small crowd of people saying goodbye while trying to forget what they had just seen. Then they locked their arms together as they strode to the direction of the school's kitchen.

The holidays this year wasn't as exciting as last year, probably because most of the students went home that year for some reason or otherwise had a decent plan for the holidays that didn't involve cooping themselves up in Hogwarts. Reed and Derek were all alone in their rooms so no one really noticed when they started secluding themselves in the Room of Requirement for most of the day. Derek would read or play with Erik and Alec (who were really nice to each other considering one's an owl and the other's a cat) while Reed would start painting something (one day, he painted the three, playing in the room). They were silent, as they always were without the others. Most of the time, they kept to themselves especially in their own houses when they were separated. With Brittany and Sofie, as well as their roommates, out with their families, they barely had anything to say or do. Both of them looked forward to the next day since that's the only time they were with someone they were truly comfortable with.

The days passed with books, paint canvases, and quiet like it always did with the two of them before Hogwarts. However, on the twenty eighth, they received a small bundle of letters from their friends. The two best friends hurriedly finished their breakfast. They picked up Alec, some hot chocolate and a bag of sweets they got from Kurt. Then they went up to get Erik before they enthusiastically went to the Room of Requirement. Inside was some new paint canvasses and the books Derek stowed inside with an old scarf wrapped around them so the room would be sure that they were his ("it was a Brittany moment," Derek said to Reed their first day alone). There were two fluffy couches and a table in between. There was a perch for Erik, who immediately flew to it, and on the foot of that perch was a cat bed for Alec. The wall was made out of glass, showing the wintery scene outside (or at least that's what they thought it showed). They sat down on one of the couches and spread the letters. Alec went around to explore, meowing from time to time.

"Whose do we read first?" Reed grinned, looking down at the letters.

Derek took a sip from the hot chocolate and opened a pack of BatMallows, some of which flew into the hot chocolate while some flew into Derek and Reed's mouths immediately. He chewed and swallowed before answering, "Sofie's." Reed picked up the letter with very neat but somehow creative scrawl and took out the parchment that resided within.

_Dear Reed and Derek,_

_Bonjour! I hope you had a grand Christmas, I know I did. There is so much to do in France and I've been speaking French nonstop, it's glorious. My cousins here are just so lovely and I wish I could've brought you all with me to meet them. We went to this secret wizarding restaurant under the Eiffel Tower for Christmas. It was beautiful and one of my cousins, Olivia, talked about Beauxbatons and how the restaurant was reminiscent to the school. Seriously, if it were possible and if I didn't love Hogwarts so much, I'd transfer right away to Beauxbatons. But I won't because I love you all. Anyway, back to the restaurant. It was quite warm inside, contrast to their design, which was ice everywhere. I bet if Brittany was there, she'd be too distracted by the shining… well… EVERYTHING to pick up her utensils (which are shiny as well). The food was exquisite (and expensive, at least I didn't have to PAY). Afterwards we went back to their condominium (which was nearby the Seine). There was wine and Olivia and I snuck ourselves a couple of sips before someone caught us. It's good, I don't know why anyone would keep it away from children, it makes everyone happy. Right before it got dark some of us walked out near the Seine. I'll show you pictures when we get back. Everything's just so lovely here and everyone's so attractive so that's a plus. Get this. Olivia KNOWS Elias! She sees him at Beauxbatons and his last name is LeNendre! And he's part of the school choir. Weasley, I want to join the Nightingales now if that means I'll get a chance to see him next year (please note that I, Sofia Salvadair, will still not attempt to audition – I'm not that desperate… yet). I could write him something… But then I'm far too afraid to do anything, I'm not even sure he REMEMBERS me. _

_Okay so after that, we went back in, had another round of dinner before going into our rooms to talk some more, watch the snow fall, and take pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. Almost everyone got me film but at least Mémé got me some clothes. A girl needs her clothes. I've got to lay off the film because I think my parents told them to get me film. _

_That's all, mates. See you soon!_

_XOXO,_

_Sofie_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Derek &amp; Reed,<em>

_I hope you're enjoying your time there at Hogwarts. I miss you two. I'm currently in Romania, visiting Daddy L's relatives. There are some dragons nearby, like a few miles but still! Isn't that exciting? I hope you liked my presents! I can see it now, Reed wearing the bonnet and Derek reading the book in the Room of Requirement. I miss you two very much and it's not really fun with just my dads anymore. Christmas was uneventful, you all know my family's Christmas tradition to the last minute (assuming you remember it). Daddy V DID tip the Christmas tree over when he tried to put the star on the top. Every year, as you know, he climbs up a step ladder instead of levitating it. He kept on saying "it makes it more special". Even though I think he's stubborn enough to do it again next year, I think that fall would make him more careful next time. And probably buy a taller step ladder. But aside from that, it was the usual carolling, big dinners, and present opening at eight A.M. sharp. I did talk to them about the potion and they're really proud of me for doing it. Daddy V suggested that we add more Lavender._

_Romania is one of the most beautiful places I've ever had the pleasure to travel to and I've travelled to a LOT of beautiful places. Daddy L's aunt and uncle are a bit uptight though, luckily I was trained to win over any kind of person no matter the personality. I saved the singing for later, I'm pretty sure THAT'S when they'll finally fall in love with their great-niece. Daddy L got me into this Christmas singing competition in the city and he got tickets for them all. I intend to the junior category by a landslide. Those muggles never stood a chance. _

_See you soon!_

_Love, _

_Rachel _

* * *

><p><em>Dear Derek and Dear Reed,<em>

_Hi. Merry Late Christmas and Happy Early New Year. I hope you're having a really fun time there at Hogwarts. It's rather dull here since relatives are over. Mum and Dad hid all of my stuff in the basement. I guess I better get used to it since I am a muggle-born after all. I called one of my cousins a muggle and I swear my mom nearly had a nervy b, luckily my cousin just cried (he's such a baby) and my aunt gave him a proper scolding for crying over something he didn't understand. But he is though, a muggle. They're all muggles. I can't talk about magic here. I'm sad… But at least I'm coming back soon, right? Right. I'm just really sad right now because me and Lord Tubbington are the only ones awake since I had a nightmare. Lord Tubbington says he misses Alec and Erik, please say hi to them for him. Hold on, he just pooped on the floor. _

_Where was I? I forgot. _

_Oh yeah, so my older cousin was bragging about her new cellphone. And then she kept on getting these texts and she kept announcing it. Then she bragged about her school and how she's top at everything. We're the same age so my aunts and uncles started asking ME about school and when I opened my mouth Mum kicked Dad under the table and he went OW and then he lied about biting his lip and then he clasped his hand on my shoulder and said that I'm going to this French school and stuff like that. I smiled and nodded along even though I didn't know what he was talking about._

_Well… Yeah. I just remembered that we had that French school story since last year. Siiiiiiiigh._

_I'm getting sleepy again. I'm going to ask Lord Tubbington if he wants to say anything else. _

_Got nothing to say, he said. Goodnight you two. _

_I still have to find an owl service tomorrow,_

_Brittany_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Derek and Reed,<em>

_I hope you're both enjoying the sweets I sent you. As I write, I am on a train going to the south to visit Mum's parents. Her other muggle relatives are there so Finn and I left all of our magical items at home (except for our wands but Dad's got them packed up in case of emergencies). It'll be quite a bore since we can't talk about Hogwarts freely until everyone's gone home and who knows how long that's going to take. At least I've got Finn with me so it'll be fine or, at the very least, bearable. Unless our (Finn's) cousins rope him into some game again, so that would leave me going up the stairs and opening one of the books I borrowed from Derek. It wouldn't be that horrible, don't worry. After two years of my real mum being gone, I've adapted to quiet. That came out too sad, forgive me. I'm happy, yeah? Unless that didn't convey onto the parchment. _

_Let's talk about Christmas then! Finn nearly burned the house down. It's quite a funny story actually. We were making cake for Christmas, we helped Mum. She allowed us to use our wands for this one. You would think that it would be neater to use them but you thought wrong. The kitchen was a complete and utter mess. I guess you could say that Finn and I are a bit clumsy with eggs and flour. But then Mum went on to ask Finn to turn the oven on so it could pre-heat. The next thing I know there was new light in the kitchen. Mum panicked for a second before she took out her wand and doused the flames. We were silent for a while but then I started to laugh. I fear the twins' insanity has gotten to me. I couldn't stop laughing and then Finn started to smile and then Mum started to giggle. We laughed for a good twenty or so seconds. We got the cake baking afterwards though then we cleaned the kitchen. _

_You would not believe who I met on the train just now! Blaine and Shane! They say hi. We're almost at the station now, funny how time flies by when you meet some friends on the train. They're going over to meet some relatives too. Too bad we don't live close by, I could've visited them while Finn was off lollygagging with our (his) cousins. _

_Well, I better end this letter right about now, we're getting off the train and I promised Dad that I finish this before we get to the house. We're passing by this owl service so it'll cost us less gas or something. _

_Yours truly,_

_Kurt_

They put the letters down again in order of their opening. "Isn't that sweet?" Derek chuckled and picked up Alec, who was meowing around his legs all throughout Kurt's letter. "They miss us." Reed laughed and patted Alec as well. Erik flew towards them and perched himself on the back of the couch. "When do you think we should reply? Erik seems to be up for some long distance."

"What do you think?" Reed asked his owl. "Do you want to go across Europe to send some letters around?" Erik hooted happily and playfully nipped one of the strands of Reed's strawberry blond curls. "I'll take that as a yes then. Let me see if we have some parchment and quills in here." He stood up and walked towards the chest full of art supplies that the Room gave to them. He opened it and moved one of the many paintbrushes to the side to find a very old quill, some ink, and some slightly ripped parchment then brought it back to the table. Derek put Alec back to the floor and the cat slinked underneath it.

The two friends leaned back into the couch, thinking of ways to write back to the others. Well, Reed was, Derek had something else in mind, something he's been withholding since the start of the year. "I guess we could write one letter each. Pass around the quill. That's the easiest one, don't you think? Like if you wanted to add something I could just give it to you…" Reed thought aloud.

"Yeah…" Derek replied. "Hey, Reed. You know you're my best friend, right? And I'm your best friend, right?" He started; he already felt his mouth going dry a little bit. It was far too late to retract the question so he'll just have to brave it out now.

"Of course. What brought this on?" Reed asked, concern suddenly shooting through him.

"I don't know how to say this…" Derek said. "But don't get mad."

"Derek just say it, you're making me nervous."

"_I'm_ making _you_ nervous? How do you think _I_ feel?" He retorted.

"This is clearly not the time for arguing."

"I'm gay." He said, clean and simple. He stared at his friend, trying to find a reaction in his features. Reed's eyebrows just shot up his forehead. His lips pursed and he started processing what he's heard.

"Oh…?"

"Yeah…" Derek nodded, thinking a measly "oh" was better than "you're _what_?" or just storming out of the room. "I was meaning to tell someone for a while now but I was too afraid of your reactions to own up."

Reed nodded and tossed the idea in his head. "So… You like guys." Derek nodded in reply. "Okay… Okay." He said finally.

"…Okay?"

"Yeah. You're gay. Nothing's changed. I just know you like guys now and not girls." Reed answered and smiled at his friend. He placed a hand on Derek's shoulder. "You're still my best friend… You're positive?"

"Positive." Derek replied with a smile. "You know, by the way I've been checking out Jenkin and a couple of the Quidditch players from other houses. That and whenever Terry, Cody, and Justin talk about boobs I just get weirded out."

Reed laughed. "Pervert!" Derek rolled his eyes and punched Reed on the shoulder. "Derek's a pervert!" They laughed and his friend tackled him to the floor. After the initial laughter and Derek deciding to tell the others some other time (even though Reed insisted that they were all going to be alright with it), they started writing the letters. It took them the most of an hour to finish all four of them and they sent Erik out to send them immediately. Alec meowed after his friend and then they came back in the room for another time of silence together. Reed started painting a flying through the snow Erik while Derek read a book called _Darkly Dreaming Dexter_. Something his mother sent to him the day after the break started (among other books). He was warned to observe caution with the book since it was an adult book but somehow his mom still sent it to him.

Before they went out of the room for dinner, Reed finished his painting and left it to dry. He laid down on the couch across Derek's. Derek was already halfway done with the book and he set it on the table in between them. He couldn't believe what he was about to do.

"Hey, Reed?"

"Are you going to say that you have a secret boyfriend?" Reed joked.

Derek sniggled. "No, it's not that."

His best friend glanced at him. "What is it?"

"Have you ever wondered – ever wondered what your first kiss would be like?"

Reed sat up straight and bit his lips together before saying, "Sometimes. Why?"

Derek turned to face Reed. "Do you want to try it?" Reed's face turned a bright shade of pink and so did Derek. The two friends didn't look away from each other, trying to figure out what to do next. It wasn't like they had romantic feelings for each other, Derek knew as much but he thought that if he was going to have a first kiss, he would want it to be someone he trusted, someone he knew wouldn't hurt him in a million years. That person was Reed.

"Is this your way of you telling me you like me?" Reed said, half nervous, half joking. "Because if it is, I don't think I like you more than just a friend."

"Oh shove off, Van Kamp." Derek shook his head with a laugh. "I don't like you that way either. I just wanted to…you know, try it. So, do _you_?"

Reed bit his bottom lip and then nodded. "Better you than some stranger."

"I think I should be offended by that." Derek chuckled and walked over to the other couch to sit beside his friend. They leaned in before both of them started to laugh. "I don't know what to do." He said, resting his forehead against Reed's.

"Me neither."

Derek looked up, thinking. "I reckon… we should put our lips together."

"Genius! Breaker, how do you do it?" Reed laughed.

"It just comes to me." Derek rolled his eyes playfully. "You ready?"

"Yeah."

Derek tentatively pressed his lips against his best friends and they stayed there, wondering why this was so enjoyable to the older students. "Do you feel anything? Like fireworks or anything?" Reed asked against Derek's lips.

"Nope." They pulled apart. "I've read a lot of books with kissing in it but this… This wasn't like any of them."

"I think it's better if you actually _like_ like someone." Reed said, leaning back into the couch.

"I suppose… It was a nice go." Derek said distractedly. "Not really what I was expecting but hey, at least we could say we had our first kisses."

"Guess so." Reed nudged lightly. Afterwards they never spoke of it ever again. It was far too strange to put into a normal conversation. They left the room like they always did, only with a couple of very small secrets that will only see the light of day when they chose to and when they were among friends, close friends, who didn't have to know as soon as they came back from vacation. The kiss and the confession didn't really change much. Derek did feel better about himself, sharing his secret with Reed. He put worrying about everybody else knowing to the back of his head, all that mattered was his best friend accepted him for who he is.

* * *

><p>"What do you think? Ancient Runes or Care of Magical Creatures?" Sofie asked.<p>

"Care of Magical Creatures…because I'll be there." Brittany answered.

"But I already have Divination with you."

"So…?" Brittany paused. "There's probably going to be a class about unicorns."

Sofie couldn't believe she hadn't thought about that. "Oh."

They were in the Room of Requirement after the championship Quidditch game between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw (the Claws won), looking for electives to pass to their house heads. They were in various stages of lying down. Rachel was sitting beside Brittany on a beunicorned couch with Sofie lying down on it. Derek was on the floor, playing with the cats, having finished his elective list a few minutes after they came in the Room. Kurt was sitting beside Reed checking the letter he got from his father concerning his classes though his eyes twitched towards the painting of the girls Reed was doing.

The months passed by a like a blur, a long, surreal, magical blur. Kurt, Derek, and Sofie all struggled in almost every class except History, a huge turn over from last year when it was hard to stay awake in the class. Rachel and Reed breezed through, though Reed showed more modesty about it. Brittany struggled greatly with every subject except History and Charms, it took the collective tutoring skills of all of her friends (_all_ of them) to keep her grades up to a passing score. She learned not to speak in Professor Button's Transfiguration class since it only causes Hufflepuff to lose grades (and causes some Gryffindors to laugh at her). Derek came out to his friends again after a long month of dragging out that much courage to speak about it ever again; Reed had to constantly remind him that all of them wouldn't mind. Kurt, upon hearing the news, was about to talk about his woes too but he reasoned that Derek already took that space of time, all of them had to get used to it before he dropped his own bomb (though the real reason was that he was still scared of admitting, as far as he knew, Reed was with Derek every step towards the confession, Kurt didn't have that with anyone) and with that, decided to tell them the next month…_Or year_, came his afterthought. Sofie was drifting through lessons as she always did, somehow managing to pass without showing too much effort, even Reed started to resent her a little bit for that though he chose to ignore the feeling. Rachel's potion was a success by the time February rolled by, earning her four more inches to her height thereby making Sofie, Reed, and Derek take the potion for themselves as well. Professor Slughorn gave each of them fifty points each (twenty five to the two Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, to be fair). Soon afterwards, a group of short students (mostly from higher up) asked for the potion, Rachel gave it, for a price of course. This gave the buyers a sort of new confidence because of their sudden height gain. However, a month later, everyone who drank the potion shrunk and somehow turned purple. It wasn't pretty at all. At least Madam Pomfrey remedied them before it went too far. Rachel gave up on the potion completely after having been humiliated. Fortunately, Professor Slughorn didn't retract the points he had given the children.

"…Alright then." Sofie sat up from the couch. "I'm done. Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures. What're yours?"

"Hold on, let me think…" Kurt said staring down the list of electives. All of them were crossed out except for three subjects. "I can't decide over Arithmancy and Muggle Studies."

"What does your dad say?" Reed asked, putting down his brush for a moment.

"Well, he said something about it being my own choice but he said not to go for Muggle Studies and Divination." He didn't add that his parents thought that Divination was a load of waffle.

"Then why do you have Muggle Studies as one of the choices?" Sofie asked, leaning over to the other side before letting her legs go to the other side, flipping her over.

"I think they expect me to learn my Muggle Studies from Mum but I have a feeling that she's a bit out dated, if you know what I mean… I mean have you _seen_ her wardrobe?" He answered.

"No we have not." Sofie answered, making Brittany giggle. "Go for Muggle Studies, if you ask my opinion, Arithmancy sounds like a bit too much maths to me."

"Also, aside from taking Divination," Rachel began, "I chose Muggle Studies so that, when I become a star, I could blend in properly with all the other famous muggles. I bet Dolce Larson-Armstrong took it. Did she Kurt?"

"No idea, I haven't asked Julian that question yet." Kurt looked down the list again. "Alright, I'm going to take Muggle Studies with Ancient Runes then."

Derek cheered. "I've got an Ancient Runes classmate."

"Assuming," Kurt interjected, "that Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors are paired up for that class."

"Oh… That's too bad then."

"Hey! I'm taking Ancient Runes too you know!" Reed called from behind his painting.

"Sorry, I – Hey, you didn't tell us your classes yet!"

_Right, I didn't. Darn._ Reed blushed with mild embarrassment and started stroking paint against the canvas. "Sorry… Anyway, I have Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. Mum told me _she_ could teach me about muggles, she said I could learn more from her. What's your other elective, Derek?"

"Care of Magical Creatures," he answered, "since I don't like maths, I don't think I can foresee the future, and I'm already half a muggle."

"Yay! You're going to be with me for the Magical Creatures class! I can't wait to see you there! Let's hope we get paired up with the Ravenclaws, so Sofie will be with us!" Brittany said animatedly. Then she lied down beside Sofie. "Almost the end of the school year, could you believe it? It seems like only yesterday we were buying ice cream at Florean's. We should do that again, by the way. It was so much fun."

"We should." Rachel agreed. "It'll be like a tradition!"

"I agree. It's a great idea for one." Kurt said with a broad grin. The other three agreed immediately.

They stayed for a while, a long while. Reed was the last one to lie down in the patch of possibly fake magic sun that was coming down from the windows the Room provided them with. "What took you so long?" Derek chuckled as his friend lied down.

"I _had_ to finish the painting, of course. I didn't want to leave it just like that." Reed answered looking up the ceiling.

"…Do you think this is real sun or fake sun?" Brittany asked suddenly after another long moment of silence.

"We don't know, Brit." Sofie answered.

"But you're a Ravenclaw, you know everything."

"Not really, Brit."

"…But –"

"Just let it go Brittany." Kurt interjected. "Let it be."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>Time is a strange thing when a person would think about it. Especially when it's thought about. In some way, it moves slowly when it's being observed while it moves like a blink when no one's looking at it. Sometimes it's painfully slow when it's studying time, when it's argument time, when it's boring time. Then it goes horribly fast when it's fun time with friends, fun time on stage, fun time sleeping. It goes fast when it's enjoyable; it goes slow when it's awful. That is the usual cases. Time changes its pace as much as a teenager would change his or her opinion about school, at first it's like "why can't it just be over yet" then it's like "why is it over". It's a strange thing, both time and the teenager. The six friends noticed that when they came in for their end of year feast with Gryffindor colours adorning the Hall. They congratulated Kurt before moving on to their respective houses. The Gryffindor held his head high, like the rest of his house, who were enjoying the thought of having the cup once again.<p>

Professor McGonagall, before giving her speech, commended Professor Weadell for a successful first year as the History Professor. Right as she finished saying that, a couple more fifth years walked towards the teachers' table and presented the Professor with a gift of thanks. "What for, loves?" She asked when she put them in her bag with all the rest.

"For helping us pass our History O.W.L.'s." One said. "And helping us pass the other subjects as well."

"Yeah, your studying advice really paid off."

Professor Weadell smiled. "You're welcome." They grinned one last time and went back to their table.

"You're really popular with the children." The headmistress observed with an almost-there smile.

"I wouldn't call it popular." Professor Weadell chuckled. "Remember when I was still here?"

Professor McGonagall nodded and went up to the podium to give away her end of year speech before the feast could start. "First off, I would like to congratulate Gryffindor house with their six hundred twenty one points that won them the house cup." There was polite applause from the other houses (the Ravenclaws were a bit resentful since there was a one point difference) while the Gryffindors cheered vigorously. "Second of all, I would like to commend the Nightingales, once again, for their third place win in the inter-school choir competition in Cavvan Institution." There was another round of applause. "I know they've worked extremely hard for that. As did all of you, for earning points for your house. For getting through your O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s. I know you all enjoyed your year, one way or the other, and for those who are leaving us this summer, may you carry your school's name with pride and class." The students leaving swelled with emotion, some even cried a little bit. "Now I'm not going to keep you from your feast any longer." She raised her hands and the food appeared in front of the students, who happily dug in their food, ready to leave, ready to miss the school, ready to come back.


	3. The Year with the Big Fight

**Important A/N: **I would like to thank, you know, once again, the people who actually READ this thing (also the people who clicked on it, saw the size, and said "fuck that shit", because that counts as a hit ;D). Thank you for the reviews and the patience. I have to admit, seeing the lack of reviews disheartened me from writing because this was a stupid idea, putting one year into one chapter. I mean, who's going to read it? Next to no one, I bet. BUT, I'm sure that's only the tiredness talking. Yes, I'm really tired right now. This one reached 103 pages on my word document and I just GAH. I hope you enjoy it and please review because it would mean the WORLD for me to know, you know, that people are really reading it and not just clicking on it.

Love Lots!

* * *

><p>"Is this it?" Burt Hummel asked his son as they walked up the towering bookstore.<p>

"Yeah, definitely." Kurt beamed as they neared. It was obviously the Breaking Bookstore that Derek specified in his letter. He looked up at it, blue paint highlighting the black base paint, bold letters for the first word and strangely swirly letters for the second word (Derek's actual handwriting) adorned the front of the store, and the glass walls of the first floor glinted against the sunlight, though you can still see the customers milling about. If there was any doubt before, it vanished when a flash of bouncing strawberry blond curls flittered by in Kurt's line of sight. "Dad, I'll be fine. It's just one night. And they're my best friends."

Burt sighed. "I know, I know. I still don't understand why you don't want Finn to tag along."

"Dad, as much as I love Finn as a step-brother, I haven't seen these people for weeks whereas I've seen him for _ages_. It's not like Derek and Reed would attack me. They're harmless."

His father clasped his shoulder with a heavy hand, making Kurt look up. Burt offered his son a small smile. "Kurt, I'm just thinking what's best for you. But I reckon I keep forgetting that you're growing up. It's the first time you've been away from us for a night – except perhaps Hogwarts."

Kurt rolled his eyes; Burt chuckled because he was reminded of his late wife. She had a knack for being the best eye roller. "Dad, come now! Not out here with people! It's not like it's for a month, we'll still see each other tomorrow at the Leaky Cauldron."

"You're right!" Burt concluded. "You're right; I have to stop babying you. After all third year is when you start to become responsible, you're going to Hogsmeade, and you're just one year away from your O.… Just don't grow up too fast, yeah?"

"Yeah." Kurt nodded and they hugged for a little bit before Burt stood up again. "I'll see you tomorrow with Mum and Finn."

"Pretty much, have fun."

"Be safe, Dad." Burt rounded the corner and Kurt was sure that he disapparated. He turned to the bookstore again and Derek and Reed were already standing with goofy smiles at the threshold. Both have grown an inch over the summer. Derek also earned himself a new layer of fat and Kurt, as well as the other girls, wondered how that happened when they met two weeks ago for their newly annual Diagon Alley tradition. Nonetheless, he smiled, approaching them without comment, and gave them each a tight hug.

"Belated happy birthday, Derek." He said before hugging Reed.

"Thanks!" Derek replied enthusiastically.

"Hi, Kurt!" Reed said brightly into the hug. "Come on in, everyone's been waiting for you!"

"Oh, so the girls are staying for the birthday sleepover?" He asked as they walked through the store, dodging the occasional customer.

"Nah, just Rachel," Derek answered, "Brittany and Sofie are staying until dinner though." Then he went into quick tour guide mode for Kurt's benefit as they walked up the stairs.

The first of two Breaking Bookstores was enormous. It had two floors up and one floor down. There was that musty book smell that most customers enjoy very much. The basement level housed comic books and merchandise for said comic books. It also housed magical books. There was a corner that showed the Ministry's emblem and if a wizard or witch wished to purchase (or explore) something from that section, all they had to do was tap the emblem with their wand and it will open a trap door to a new room with shelves upon shelves of wizard fiction and other wizarding books. The first floor walls were made of glass. A person could peer inside to see the extreme amount of fiction that spaced most of the floor. The second floor was laden with self-help books, cookbooks, bookmarks (in varying shapes and forms), various notebooks, and other things that children and fiction readers don't usually rifle through (well, except for the bookmarks, and maybe the notebooks). Derek led them to the third floor that not only housed the teens' section but also the little coffee/pastry shop called "Sacré Brew" and the reading nook. The whole left side of the floor was glass as well; giving the people in the shop a great view of the Birmingham streets below. It also gave the people in the reading nook a lot of natural light for most of the day. The right side was a wall full of elaborate drawings of various shapes and book related things, some of which were old Reed drawings that Derek purposely stole from Reed when his parents asked him for help during the renovation period five years ago. Reed was shocked that Derek would do such a thing, to which Derek replied, "It's not like you would willingly give them anyway. I'm sorry." It was probably the only fight they _ever_ had. The north and south walls had a bit of the drawings in it but most of it been covered in quotes from books or quotes from people pertaining to writing, reading, or just funny things like this one sign that was like something that came from Las Vegas that read "Ambiguity: What happens in vagueness, stays in vagueness." (Noah Breaker laughed at it almost every time). There was another one that read "Hyperbole is the BEST THING EVER." The place was ridden with those things. Kurt couldn't believe this little gem could be found just two towns over from where he lived.

"This place is amazing." He said, admiring the books and walls. "When you mentioned renovations that first year, I assumed it was just like new carpets or higher bookshelves or something."

Derek shrugged. "Mum and Dad decided to make it aesthetically pleasing. You should've seen it before. I think we have pictures at home."

"_Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurt_!" Sofie jumped from behind on of the shelves, hugging her friend very tightly. "Don't you just want to look around? Maybe stay forever? This has got to be the most beautiful thing I've seen. Seriously. Why oh why did I have to live in Bristol?" She grabbed Kurt's shoulders and shook him fiercely. "Why?"

"I don't know!" Kurt replied with the same hysterical tone.

"She's been doing that since we got here." Reed supplied, Kurt nodded in understanding. "Where're Brittany and Rachel, Sof?"

"I think they're still in the shop thing." She answered. "Enjoying some scones and macaroons." They turned to the shop about the same time Rachel told Brittany that Kurt already arrived. Both of them waved vigorously, prompting the others to come over already.

"Give me your bag. I'll put it with the others." Derek said as he tugged Kurt's big messenger bag from his shoulder. "I'll just catch up with you in a moment." He took the bag and trotted away to the reading nook where Reed and Rachel's bags stayed hidden in Derek's reserved reading spot, which was near the glass wall and took the form of a chaise (though this chaise was far more fluffier and comfortable than all the other chaises… And it was yellow instead of black).

Back at the shop, Kurt was hugging the two girls he hasn't seen for at least two weeks. Not much did change since they saw each other. Rachel was still regaling Brittany about her "special vocal lessons" during the summer that she said would prepare her for the choir time that year. Kurt was sorry that he even asked and Reed looked a little disappointed – he hoped that by going away to greet Kurt at the door that Rachel would've calmed down about it.

"So," Derek said, squeezing himself between Reed and Brittany, stopping Rachel's monologue, "are you two sure you can't stay over?" He asked.

Sofie shook his head. "I asked a million times they just _won't_. I think it's because you're boys. I mean they know Derek's gay and all but he's still got a… you know…"

"But I'm not interested in your lady parts!" Derek protested.

"I _know_. And I even told them that the girls would sleep in a separate room! They probably hate me or something." Sofie crossed her arms and slumped down the table.

"Mum and Dad don't want me to be away from home except for Hogwarts." Brittany said sadly. She was looking forward to it when she got Derek's letter. "I'm really sorry Derek, I wanted to stay over."

Derek sighed and put his chubby arms on the table, making it wobble just a little bit. "That's okay. It would've been funner though."

"What've you got planned?" Sofie immediately perked up at the thought. "Are we going out for some alcohol? Pubbing? _Clubbing_? Hot sweaty blokes?"

"…No." Derek answered, feeling a little bit scandalized. "We're still thirteen." He paused to wave at the counter girl, Candace, for his usual (a chocolate banana tart, and a cup of tea). She happily obliged. "Plus I don't think any good pubs or clubs are open at eleven in the morning."

"Details, details." Sofie waved the statement off as she took one macaroon away from the plate.

"I heard some girls talking about this party they were going to one night during my summer." Brittany commented, picking on one of her scones. Derek looked at it hungrily for a second before turning his attention back to the blonde. "They were really excited about it… And they were wearing some really short skirts and shirts with no backs… I think it would be fun." She shrugged.

Rachel's face twisted a little bit. "Don't you think that's a bit… slaggy?"

Brittany gasped. "Rachel!" About the same time, Candace came with Derek's order and she took away Reed's empty plate. "You shouldn't use that word."

"Well it's the only one that would describe what you were describing." Rachel defended, taking another scone from the pile. "These are really good by the way." She said up to Candace.

"Cheers, love." The tall red head grinned brightly and she turned her eyes towards Kurt. "What about you, sweetie? Do you want any cakes or tea?"

Kurt hesitated for a little bit. "Kurt." Derek said. "You can order anything you want, it's on the bookstore."

"If you say so." The chair scratched on the floor as he stood and he followed Candace to the chalk written menus and the displayed snacks. He didn't want to leave the conversation yet, but when he looked back at the shop and realized that aside from the lady at the back with a laptop and a steaming hot coffee (with a bit of strong vodka in it), they were the only ones in the place. She also had headphones on so he figured that they would speak up.

Sofie looked back at Kurt and then back at Derek. "So, no clubs?"

Derek shook his head. "No clubs. But maybe when we're of age, we could." He said before taking a bite of his tart. "You know… if our parents allow it."

Sofie made a sound, something between a scoff and a chuckle (a choff), while rolling her eyes. "We can apparate by then, they can't stop us from going."

"Unless they put up anti-disapparation charms around the house." Reed piped up. Sofie glared at him for a bit. "What? You _know_ they would…at some point."

"What part of _'of age'_ do you not understand?" Sofie asked him, using air-quotes, and her voice incredulous. "We're _allowed_ – no, _supposed_ to leave the house by then."

Kurt sat back down, having ordered a cheesecake, a small chocolate muffin, and some tea. He spoke up, "She's right you know. My dad's been repeating the story of his seventh year every time he's got the chance. Thankfully that isn't often. He says he stayed home for most of the summer while he looked for a flat and then went to the Ministry for Auror training. Then that's where he met Mum came from Salem Witches Institute from America, blah, blah, blah..."

"Aw," Brittany and Sofie cooed. "That's so sweet." The blonde said then she took a sip of her warm chocolate milk. It was making her sleepy and she knew she shouldn't have since her parents wouldn't let her have any until after dinner. She just couldn't wait though. "You've _got_ to tell us more." Derek nodded in assent.

Kurt sighed, he knew bringing this up would elicit some reaction from Brittany, Derek, or Sofie. He smiled nonetheless, a bit tiredly. "I'm not sure if I could remember it right, I don't even remember the whole thing. They met at orientation and Mum found Dad _annoying_ to say the least." He flashed back to his dad laughing as he said this. "And – um, Dad was really smitten with her though she tried her best to avoid him for the rest of her life. I think it was until Dad saved her from a freak accident during training a year later that they became friends. Or was it two years later, I forgot. And then… after they became official Aurors, Dad sort of proposed… Oh yes they were already seeing each other by then. Mum said yes, they had a lavish wedding, and then they went to have me… That's all I remember..." Sudden sadness enveloped Kurt, thinking of what would happen just five years later. Just in time, the muffin, cheesecake, and tea arrived, bringing along a modest pile of tissues which Kurt took and brought to his face hastily.

"Kurt…" Reed spoke up, reaching over to touch his friend's back.

"I'm fine." They didn't seem to buy it. "No, really, I'm fine. I've… I've moved on and I know she's in a better place and all." They all looked at each other uncomfortably and in silence. "For goodness sake, it was Derek's birthday yesterday; shall we not talk about my mother's death?" Brittany actually giggled but abruptly stopped, glancing at Kurt. But her fear disappeared when she noticed a grateful smile from Kurt.

"You're right." Sofie grinned. "You're right, we should be having fun! Candace, more macaroons!" Candace laughed, giving her a salute and the small, black haired girl's smile faltered a little bit, realizing what she's done then casting a questioning glance at Derek.

The chubby boy chortled. "It's alright, mate! We're all family here."

"Good," she said in a relieved tone, "I thought I was walking beyond the line."

"What line?" Brittany asked.

Reed grabbed the blonde's hands and squeezed them, none of them really wanted to discuss idiomatic expressions in full to a girl who mixes up her ABC's while they weren't at Hogwarts yet. "Just drop it for now, Brit. We'll tell you more about it at Hogwarts."

Her face lit up with surprise, she looked behind her shoulder and towards Candace, who was busy plating more macaroons. "Are we allowed to say that here?" She whispered.

"Yeah, it's okay." Derek answered. "You seem to have forgotten the special charm my mum put on Candace, as well as the other muggle employees."

"What special charm?" Kurt inquired, taking another bit of his muffin.

"She can't hear or see anything remotely magical, even when it's right in front of her." He answered, turning to Kurt. "You see, she came to my mum a year ago, looking for a good job since she was under a lot of debt and she wanted to graduate uni and all so Mum took her in even if she was a muggle. The charm went up right away since we've got wizards coming and going almost every day. She was the first muggle employee. And when Mum's cashiers started looking for a higher calling in the wizarding world, she found having muggle employees easier to keep so there are 'round ten of them now. By that time, business was blooming so it was alright." He shrugged at the end and Candace set the new plate of macaroons on the table's centre. They all thanked her.

"Anything else?" She asked brightly. They all shook their heads and she ruffled Derek's head. "Alright, just call if you need anything. Derek, you have very lovely friends."

"Thank you!" Derek laughed as she walked away.

"I really like this muggle." Sofie commented and ate another macaroon. "And she _made_ these?"

"With a bit of help from the others, but she's in charge of most of the making so technically yes." Derek said.

"Didn't you mention that she was studying culinary arts?" Reed wondered aloud.

"Yeah, she is. She's planning on opening another shop and she's calling it Sacré Brew too." Derek said, finishing his tart. "But she isn't moving far. For her birthday, my parents bought her this space a block away. That's how much we love her."

"I love you too, Book Prince!" Candace called, making the children laugh.

"So what about that wizarding section?" Kurt asked before putting the slice of the best cheesecake he's ever tasted into his mouth. He squeaked in surprise. "Sweet Merlin, this is the most amazing cheesecake I've ever eaten."

"Another one has fallen, Candy!" Derek said over his shoulder and she made an exaggerated bow. Kurt smiled at her and took another slice. "Anyway, the wizarding section is run by three witches. They're really nice, actually. It's really big but I don't know how they managed to work on it. I love getting lost there."

"And he does." Reed chuckled.

"So do you." Derek retorted. "That's also where we're leaving the store."

"What?" Brittany asked. "How?"

"Floo powder."

"…That sounds cute." Brittany sighed, eating another macaroon, followed by a scone.

"You wouldn't think as much once you try it." Kurt smirked. "It's pleasanter than apparation but not as clean."

"That's okay." She shrugged. "I don't mind some dirt."

"Speaking of," Rachel began, "when are we leaving?"

Derek looked up at the clock above the door. "Around noon, I guess. Mum wants to be there when we 'Floo' away. Junie's going to be there, right Reed?"

"Yeah, she is." Reed grinned.

"Who's Junie?" Brittany questioned.

"My family's house elf." Reed answered. "And by extension, the Breakers'. She's really sweet, you'll love her."

"Aww, that's really cute. A house elf." Brittany giggled at the thought. "Do you have unicorns at your house?"

"Well… No, it's illegal to domesticate unicorns, not to mention it's downright impossible." Reed grinned. "But I'm sure Hagrid will show you unicorns sometime this year – or next, I'm not sure."

"I hope so or I'll just be really sad." Brittany just really wanted to see some unicorns up close.

"Oh he better." Sofie muttered. She wanted to see them too. "How long 'til Floo time?"

"Thirty minutes." Reed squinted at the clock. "It won't be long now. Oops." He dropped a macaroon and reached for it under the table, knocking his head against it. "Ow." He hissed and finally grasped the soiled macaroon. He started to bring his head back up in triumph but was then thwarted by the underside of the table. It started tipping, Derek and Kurt immediately relieved their cups of tea from the table so did the girls with the plates, both empty and full. The table crashed to the floor with a great thud that jostled the lady at the back of the shop.

"Is everyone alright?" Candace asked.

There was a scattered murmur of "yeah" from the six friends as Reed stood up, rubbing his head with one hand and holding a macaroon on the other. "Stupid pastry." He grumbled and set it down on his chair. Kurt and Derek did the same to their cups and pulled the table upright. Derek immediately checked his friend for bleeding and mused that he would fix it once they were in the wizarding section.

The rest of the half hour was spent talking with Kurt about how he spent the time they were separated from each other. It was rather drab, he admitted it himself, since it was just pretty much spending time at home, either cooking or spending time with Finn. "The most exciting thing I probably did during that time was learn more about cooking magic." He said. Brittany spent it dancing again. Reed butt into Rachel's up and coming speech, they all heard it before, singing with the best, four new high notes, she even took some dance lessons. Reed and Derek did the same things, paint and read, read and paint. They'd paint and listen to music at Reed's house while Derek read. Sometimes they came to the bookstore and hang out with Candace. Sofie, on the other hand, spent the summer at her house, cooped up like Kurt. Unfortunately she didn't have any lessons on cooking magic so she was bored out of her mind. "Why'd you think I kept sending you letters? Did you not read the 'P.S. Deathly bored'?"

"Did you not read the books I sent you?" Derek countered.

"Well yes, I did. But since I had nothing better to do I read them all in under a week. You're not the only bookworm here, mate, remember that." She grinned.

"Hello, dears." Derek's mum entered the shop with a bright smile, ending the conversations. She looked very prim and proper, wearing something Hilda designed for the "wizard or witch working in the muggle world". It was a white, flowy, long sleeved blouse that swooshed as she stepped, paired with black slacks. Rachel Breaker looked like the usual, casual, muggle businesswoman. Hilde, having immersed herself with fashion of both wizarding and muggle after Hogwarts, was the perfect clothes designer for everyone. Rachel was enjoying the bonus of being the best friend of one since Hilde so often showered her with unreleased designs. "Ready to go?"

"You look amazing, Mrs. Breaker." Brittany said as she jumped off the chair.

"Why, thank you, Brittany." She smiled. "Let's go then?"

"Wait, I'll go get their bags from the nook." Derek said and trotted off to the other room. His mom led the others outside the shop as they said their goodbyes to Candace.

"I wish I could come with you for Derek's birthday celebration." Derek's mother said. "But I'm frightfully busy as you can see."

"That's okay, Mrs. Breaker." Sofie said in a very polite tone, something her friends only hear her use with people of authority. "At least you were there yesterday, right?"

"Right." She smiled at the little girl then she turned her gaze towards Reed's forehead. "Reed! What happened this time?"

He shrugged. "The usual."

"You have a usual here?" Kurt asked.

Mrs. Breaker chuckled. "He sure does and the usual is head to table bumping. It happens almost all the time he's here."

Reed smiled. "They try to keep me away from the shelves as much as possible."

"I'm back, here you go." Derek happily gave his friends' bags back and continued to smile as he and his mum led them back downstairs. Some of the employees smiled and greeted them as they passed by, as well as some of the regular customers. But when they arrived at the basement level, the outside world was muffled and less people were around them.

"You'd all be surprised on how many people actually buy from this level." Mrs. Breaker said, sensing the silence and the extreme lack of human life in the area. "I seem to only come here when there's not a soul." As if on cue, a stick thin man passed by and looked up at them. Brittany squeaked. "Hi, Ted."

"Hey, Rachel." Rachel looked up at Derek's mum and remembered that they shared a name.  
>"Showing the kids around?"<p>

"Yes." She lied. "Don't worry he's one of the usual customers." She said comfortingly to Brittany, who was closest to her. The poor girl was quacking in her shoes. "Ted, these are Derek's friends from school."

"Pleased to meet you." He smiled creepily, making the other kids smile back awkwardly. Derek even did a small wave; he never did like Ted that much. "Have the new shipments from America arrived yet?"

Mrs. Breaker thought of it for a second and replied, "I believe they're arriving tonight."

"Good to know… Good to know." He nodded to himself and walked into another aisle.

"Come along, Junie's probably done getting everything ready by now." She said, ushering them to the corner where the Ministry emblem resided. "She'll be saddened if you're late, you know how sensitive she gets during a special occasion." Reed and Derek nodded. The moment they arrived at the emblem, Mrs. Breaker spared no time pulling out her wand from her sleeve and casually tapping it on the emblem. There was a quick spark and a trapdoor, just inches to the left of where she was standing, sprang open then a ladder shot up against one of the shelves. "I'll go first, just in case Reed falls." She tucked her wand and jumped onto the ladder, climbing down.

"Ladies first." Sofie smirked at Derek and presented the ladder to him with a dramatic flourish of her hand. He rolled his eyes and pushed at her arm. She laughed. Brittany jumped at it immediately and climbed down, Rachel followed, and then Derek because Sofie wouldn't leave him alone about it. She followed him down afterwards, still snickering. Reed insisted that Kurt go first so he could close the trapdoor properly.

"Careful with your fingers, Reed!" Mrs. Breaker called. "Remember the last time!"

"Yes, Mrs. Breaker!" It was one of the most painful things ever, slamming it on top of his fingers. How could he _ever_ forget? He pulled on the strap since if he used his wand to give it another tap he'd surely fall. It went down without a peep, just in time for Ted to turn the corner, wondering where all the voices were coming from.

Inside, the smell of books was more overpowering. There were about three dozen voices echoing up and down the place. The magic section of Breaking Bookstore had about seven levels to it. Sure a witch or wizard had to go sideways for most of the time in fear of falling into the empty air in the middle but it was the best place to buy them in Birmingham. Books lined the walls at every level except for the first, where one wall was for the cashier and one wall was for the Floo exits. Each level had its own subject matter, from Potions to Transfiguration to Wizard Fiction, and Magical Herb Encyclopaedias. At every level, there is an extra hallway entrance at the north and south of the level that led to _more_ books. There were a few lights that poked out of the walls. They weren't very bright so no one could really read anything without lighting up their own wands.

"Wow." The others gasped as they walked to the railing and looked down.

"Let's go." Mrs. Breaker announced and led them to the other side of the circular level. She pressed a small button on the wall and another trapdoor opened. "This is how you go from level to level." She smiled and jumped through the hole. Brittany and Sofie gasped and scrambled to look down to see if she was alright. And she was, her blouse fluttered in the windless air as she hovered above the floor for two seconds before clacking down to the next platform. The trapdoor closed and two jumped back. "It's a Cushioning Charm." She called to them. "You'll be fine! Just press the button."

Derek stepped forward and pressed the button himself. "It can even cushion me! Watch." He jumped in and he was right, the charm held him up a few inches over the ground, even with his weight, and dropped him down after a moment. He smiled up at them before the door closed again. They repeated the action six more times before they reached the ground level. Brittany enjoyed it a little too much, wanting to try the going up feature of the magic section.

"Hello, Anya." Mrs. Breaker leaned on the counter smiling at the new manager of the magic section. "How is everything going?"

"Beautifully, Madam Breaker." She grinned. "Told you I could handle it."

"Never doubted you for a second." She patted the girl's shoulder. "Keep up the good work. I'll just be here for a quickie; I'm bringing Derek and his friend's to the fireplaces." Anya nodded and she turned back the group of children. She grabbed the Floo powder from the wall and presented it to the others.

"How is that going to bring us to Derek's house?" Brittany asked, eyeing the powder in the pail.

"First you grab a good pinch, Brit." Reed said as he did the same. "Like this." And then he walked up the fireplace. "Pay attention, Brit." He said over his shoulder and Kurt nudged the blonde girl who was watching a book fly down to the counter. She shook her head and turned her attention to Reed.

"I'm listening, I'm listening." She said defensively.

"Okay you throw the powder down and say the place you're going to _very clearly_, understand?" Brittany nodded. Reed threw the powder into the fire and it burned a bright green. It roared over his head, he stepped in and enunciated loudly, "Breaker Residence." Then he disappeared and the fire went back to normal.

"Oh my god, is he alright?" Brittany asked worriedly.

"Yes, he is." Rachel said soothingly. "And you will be to. Just say the name really clearly."

"And don't fidget." Sofie added and took her own pinch. "And keep your elbows tucked in, like _really_ tucked in." She stepped up to the fire and said the destination again, "Breaker Residence."

"Oh and keep your eyes shut, the soot's _horrible _on the eyes. And clothes…" Kurt said turning to Derek. "You better have something to clean us up afterwards."

"Don't worry. Junie cleans people when they come through the fireplace." He answered "Bye Mum, see you later! You three too!" He then jumped into the flames.

Brittany tentatively took a pinch and turned to Kurt again. "Do you need me to push you in? I can if you want me to."

She shook her head. "I can do this." She sucked in a deep breath and head up to the fireplace. The people behind her silently hoped that she won't get lost in the Floo Network. None of them talked about the possibility of such because they knew that the blonde would lose her cool once it was mentioned. "Breaker Residence." She said after entering the fire, which was surprisingly agreeable to her skin. Her last thoughts before sucked into the Network was "oh no, I forgot to say please." She suddenly felt bad that she was rude.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Rachel asked worriedly.

"Brittany might be a little out there but she's careful when she's been told to be." Kurt replied firmly. "You first."

"Thank you." She smiled.

After all of them were spun, dizzied, knocked around, and disoriented, they all found themselves in the Breaker's living room with Junie the elf sitting with her legs tucked under her, poised to clean the next human to come out of the fireplace covered in soot. Kurt stumbled out of the fire, his once immaculate outfit soiled. He was greeted by a spacious living room, simple yet tasteful with beige tones and gold accents adorning the walls. There were also very fluffy looking cushions and pillows on the chairs and couch. "Is he the last of Master Derek and Reed's friends?" A sweet, high pitched voice sounded and Kurt turned his head down to the elf sitting on the couch arm. She smiled up at him.

"Yes, Junie." Reed said and the elf snapped her fingers, cleaning Kurt and the carpet immediately. He looked spotless, so did the floor and the fireplace. His bag was transported to Derek's room where Reed and Rachel's were already situated in. Junie jumped off the couch and she slid into the tiny shoes Hilde made for her and they tied themselves tight.

"Come along Master Derek and Reed and friends! I have prepared a feast fit for kings and queens!" She said enthusiastically. Brittany followed immediately; the little elf's happy vibe was getting the best of her. She grinned brightly at her friends, making hand gestures towards the elf; gestures her friends couldn't make heads or tails of.

"You have a lovely home, Derek." Rachel said as they crossed the living room. "Really soph –"

"Ow!" Reed exclaimed. They all turned around and found him bending forward a little bit and his lips sucked in his mouth, protecting them all from any cussing he was about to do. "Sorry… Hit the couch." He said in a strangled tone. They all looked down and on their mouths formed an 'o' shape of understanding. They all seemed to sense his pain.

"…Does Master Reed need some ice?" Junie asked warily.

Reed shook his head. "I'm fine… I'm fine." He replied in the same tone. "It's not like it doesn't happen regularly."

"It happens regularly?" Sofie said disbelievingly, eyes bulging.

"Not _regularly _regularly and only since Mum got new – erm – more protruding couches." Derek commented. "Reed, are you sure –"

"Yeah! I'll just have to," he made a deep intake of breath, "walk it off."

"So does Master…?" Junie asked again.

"No, Junie, I'm alright." Reed tried to smile, but it just ended in a painful grimace.

"Very well." The elf nodded and waved them towards the dining room. It wasn't really just a dining room. It was a very efficient kitchen-dining room that had flying kitchen utensils and silverware about. The table was covered with various delicious dishes for the children to feast upon. "I hope the young Masters and Mistresses would enjoy the meal. There is garlic bread, fish and chips, steak, and some pizza as Master Derek requested. Be sure to leave room for dessert, I made crème brûlée and apple tart and I remade that cake you had last night."

"That sounds very lovely, Junie." Sofie said, beaming at the little elf.

"Thank you, Mistress." The dark haired girl felt a bit giddy at being called such. Her family's never had a house elf of their own. Junie turned to Derek and Reed. "Will that be all for now?" The two nodded.

"We'll call if we need anything." Reed said. She bowed and popped away from the room with a loud _crack_.

"Do you ever wonder where she pops off to?" Sofie asked. Before Derek or Reed could answer, Brittany made a little squeal of delight.

"That was – _blimey_ a house elf!" Brittany stared in awe at the empty spot Junie was in before she went away.

"Brit, you've seen the elves at Hogwarts all the time." Kurt said. "I don't see why you're so amazed now."

"Well, Junie's my first _house_ house elf." She shrugged. "I'm used to seeing dozens of them running around in the kitchens but have I seen just one of them working for a wizarding family? No I have not."

"Point taken." Rachel said immediately with a nod.

"Alright, let's go dig in." Derek said excitedly, his mouth watering at the food on the table.

"Someone's a bit hungry after a snack at the bookstore." Sofie joked as she sat down on a seat. Kurt sat across her and Rachel sat beside her. Reed and Derek sat at the heads of the table, the latter sticking his tongue out at Sofie for her remark. Brittany flitted to the window, distracted by something colourful that passed her vision.

"Is that a bouncy castle?" She pushed the curtain away and peered out to the backyard.

"No, not exactly." Derek answered. "Do you know about those Velcro walls?"

She whipped her head around, her face full of excitement, she even gasped. "No! You did _not_!"

"Apparently he did." Kurt muttered, turning his head towards the girl. "Let's eat first before we throw ourselves to the wall."

"I'm sorry if this sounds extremely pureblood of me but what is a Velcro wall?" Rachel asked quickly.

Sofie smirked and patted her shoulder. "You'll see, Rach. It'll be fun, don't worry."

Lunch was most enjoyable. They all found out why their parents and the friends of said parents could stay in a restaurant for hours and just talk. Having friends over for a meal was about as fun as it could get. Brittany talked about Lord Tubbington, as always, as well as her own twisted logic about pirouettes – that was enough to give them pretty good memories to look back to. Reed kept flinging silverware whenever the conversation took an animated turn (which was often) and he kept breaking the windows and other glass items. Fortunately, Junie was accustomed to these accidents, having been in the family before he was even born. She would pop in quickly, mend the break, bring the silverware back squeaky clean and pop away. She came back a several minutes later to serve dessert and the children immediately dug in. The children ate as the dishes were being cleaned. Brittany hardly touched her food without Reed nudging her out of watching the floating utensils and plates. She was the last to finish her tart and she slumped down on to the chair.

"I'm very full." She patted her stomach. "That was a _really_ a brilliant lunch, Derek."

"Nah, Junie did all the work." Derek said, waving it off.

"You're right!" She grinned. "Junie! Thank you for a brilliant lunch!"

The elf popped up beside her, making her almost fall off the chair. "Thank you, Mistress." She bowed then stood up straight again and smiled at everyone. "Is everyone done with their food?" They all nodded and she snapped her fingers, causing the plates to fly towards the sinks. Instead of popping of someplace else, she sat on the kitchen counter, surveying the magic at work.

Derek spoke up. "So… Does anyone want to get to the wall yet?" There were varying answers of "sure" and "yeah" but no one moved. Sofie just slumped lower down on her chair, her mouth breaking into a small smile.

"Is anyone going to stand up?" She said. "I'll stand up when you stand up." They all chuckled.

Rachel stood up first. "Well, I want to see this so called 'Velcro wall' for myself and see what's so fun about it."

Brittany, having been reminded by Rachel about the joys of throwing yourself on a wall and sticking to it, stood up as well. "Everything, Rachel, _everything's_ fun about it."

"Come on, mates." Derek laughed. "On to the Velcro! Up, up, up!"

"Carry _meeeeeeeeeeee_!" Sofie called out in the room, thrusting her arms into the air. Reed went near her and she immediately stood up with a laugh. "I'd rather live for a few more years, Van Kamp." Her friend rolled her eyes and stuck his tongue out at her. They walked out to the spacious backyard of the Breakers. It was a wide expanse of neatly trimmed grass with a big pond (or a small lake) just a few feet away from the house. A few trees dotted the surroundings and it was very nature friendly. There wasn't another house for another mile or so. Mrs. Breaker, being a witch and all, wanted to be a little secluded so she was free to use her wand without neighbours leering through the windows. Her husband seemed to agree and they settled on a house in the outskirts of Birmingham just so they aren't too far from civilization. A small breeze blew on them when they reached the bouncy, air filled wall of Velcro and it smelled like leaves.

Kurt picked up the suit they were supposed to wear; they were right at the foot of the trampoline. He held it gingerly between two fingers and turned to Reed and Derek. "Are we really going to have to wear this?"

"Yeah, so suck it up, Hummel." Derek smirked. He grabbed the biggest on and dropped it on the grass below him. He grabbed the others and tossed it to his friends. "Suit up!"

"Wait, so how do you… play this?" Rachel asked.

"Well," Brittany started, she had her suit on as soon as Derek threw it at her, "it's really just throwing yourself on the wall and then someone rips you off and you jump again. I remember this party I went to when I was younger. They had us see who could get stuck on the highest part. I won."

"Is that a challenge I hear, Ms. Pierce?" Sofie goaded, zipping up her own suit.

"Depends, can you handle all of _this_?" The blonde stuck her butt out and wiggled it speedily, earning laughs from her friends.

"You are so lucky you can do that." Her friend said as she attempted to do the same and is only successful in doing the awkward version of it. She also made her friends laugh.

"It _is_ a perfect day for throwing yourself against a wall." Kurt looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand. At the same time a huge summer breeze flew pass them. The bouncy wall swayed a little bit and they could hear the trees rustle. "So who's going fir –"

"Oof."

"Reed!" Brittany shouted with concern and Kurt turned around to see Reed sprawled on the ground with a pained expression. "Are you okay?"

"The trampoline works." He groaned.

"Does anything feel like it's bleeding?" Rachel asked.

"No, I'm fine. It's fine." He said and waved them towards the wall. "Go on! Just try to propel yourself forward when you're jumping." Rachel shook her head and helped Reed up to his feet. Derek was already about to jump on the trampoline.

"Be careful Dere!" Sofie shouted. "You might deflate the whole thing!" He turned his head to look over his shoulder and he laughed at her statement.

"Well, if I go first I'll save you all from being buried by all that if I _do_ deflate it." He called back just before he jumped on the trampoline and flew through the air and landed smack dab in the middle of the wall, spread-eagled against it. He made a thumbs-up gesture with both of his hands and called out, "Who's next?"

"Rachel! Because she hasn't tried it yet." Brittany said as she and Kurt pushed a slightly hesitant Rachel up on the bouncy part. She shook her head and situated herself in front of the trampoline.

"What if I hit Derek?" She asked worriedly.

"It's fine! I've got the natural padding known as fat. I don't think it'll hurt that much." He said from the wall and he sort of squirmed around. "And I can't seem to pull myself down."

"And none of us want to be on the underside of a Derek Breaker fall." Kurt joked with a sly grin.

"Trust me; you do _not_ want that at all." Reed said. "I speak from experience." He looked up at Rachel. "You just have to chance it."

"In the meantime, I'll try to pull myself out of here." Derek said.

"Try to angle your body away from him when you're in the air." Brittany suggested.

"I think _you're_ the only one able to do that." The brunette retorted before taking a deep breath and jumped into the trampoline. She shot high in the air, so high that the others had to crane their necks upward to watch. She screamed a little bit before hitting the wall a few inches above Derek. "Am I really that light?" She asked a couple of seconds before the Velcro lost its grip and she fell down, hitting Derek in the process, loosening his Velcro's grip as well. She laughed as she bounced on the floor.

"In coming!" Derek shouted and Rachel rolled three times to her left, narrowly escaping her big friend's heavy back. She bounced with him when he hit the floor. The others laughed and climbed up the huge, colourful bouncy Velcro wall and started throwing themselves against it. Derek had Junie take out the boom box from his room and asked her to put in the mixed CD he and Reed put together during the summer. The music blasted in the backyard and since no neighbours were there to complain, they sang along as well whenever they heard a familiar tune. They played a few games during the afternoon, including the one where they tried to see who could get to the highest point of the wall. Brittany showed off a little bit during her turn, doing twirls in the air as she jumped on the trampoline.

"We're growing old here!" Kurt joked.

"Yeah, stop showing off, you know I'm going to win!" Sofie laughed, she fell from her place on the wall and was sitting beside Reed, who was hanging upside down. Rachel was actually the highest one at the moment.

"Fine, fine!" Brittany laughed and jumped towards certain doom, as in, she hit Rachel and they both went tumbling down the wall with Derek in tow. This time he fell on top of them too. The three of them couldn't stop laughing.

"Get off!" Rachel laughed breathlessly as she pushed on Derek. This went on for an hour before they tried another game where they were all stuck on the wall and they tried to push each other off the wall. The last one sticking won. Rachel and Sofie won these the most. Soon enough they tired down and they just lied down on their backs and watched the clouds glide over them lazily. They talked about their summer again, just little inconsequential stories that they neglected to utter when they met at Diagon Alley like what they did the day after, how long they usually pooped, what their plans that Christmas was (none of them had the slightest idea though). They also reminisced about their time at Hogwarts. Before they could fall asleep in the backyard, Derek asked them if they wanted to watch a movie.

"Depends… What movie is it?" Sofie asked.

"Have you heard of _Mean Girls_?" Derek said, making Brittany squeal and sit up.

"You _have_ _Mean Girls_? My parents didn't let me watch it even though I'm perfectly old enough." She said and she started to bounce. "Let's watch it!"

"Oh, I heard about that film!" Sofie said. "Some of the Ravenclaws talked about it in the common room. They said it was really funny."

"It's not just funny. You haven't truly _lived_ unless you watched that movie." Derek grinned and sat up. "To my room!" He rolled off of the bouncy floor and onto the grass with a soft thump. He reached for the boom box and turned it off. "C'mon, mates! The day isn't going to wait while we laze around."

"You're very loquacious today." Kurt commented. "Actually… you've been like that since we saw you a couple of weeks ago. What changed over the summer?"

"What's loquacious?" Brittany asked.

"Talkative." Derek said then shrugged at Kurt's question. "I don't know. I just… felt like talking, that's all."

They all turned to look at Reed. "What are you looking at me for? I spend time with that bloke all the time! I don't think I'd notice."

"Let us not forget." Sofie said as she slipped off the bouncy floor and unzipped her suit. "Derek and Reed do not talk when they are alone, they brain share."

"That's not true!" They protested at the same time and then looked at each other.

"That was freakish, mates." She shook her head and shimmied out of her suit. "Well then, do you have any snacks? It's not really a movie without snacks."

"I'll see what I can get." Derek smiled and put the boom box into Brittany's waiting hands. "Reed, show them up to my room and I'll get some things to eat. Start the movie without me." The curly topped boy nodded and all of them went inside. Derek stayed in the kitchen with Junie, looking into the refrigerator, considering which snacks to take as well as having tea in his room. There was the huge chance that Reed would knock and/or break them but he was craving for tea.

Meanwhile, Reed led them to Derek's room on the second floor of the house. It was incredibly neat and spacious as the rest of the house. The books were everywhere, stacked or shelved, on the desk, on the wall, and the closet. The closet area was in slight disarray, as if the owner was rearranging the stack, one of the books had a bookmark on top of it, and under the book were about five other bookmarks. The bed was backed against the wall beside the door and the television set was right across the bed. Reed immediately walked to the smaller closet where the TV sat on and opened its doors. Inside were children's books on the lower shelf and CD's (a variety of music and movies, all arranged in alphabetical order) on the upper shelf. "Make yourself comfortable!" He said as he pulled the pink CD case out of its place. "He wouldn't mind."

"If you say so." Sofie said and jumped into Derek's bed. "Dear sweet Merlin, this bed is comfortable."

"Really?" Rachel queried disbelievingly and sat down on the bed. She immediately melted into it, lying down beside her friend. "It feels like I'm on a cloud." Brittany wordlessly jumped on top of them, earning laughs for the girls under her. Kurt walked to the bed's corner and sat there. He rubbed the soft fabric with his hands and grabbed a bunch of the comforter.

"It's down, isn't it?" He asked.

"Yeah! Even the pillows are filled with down." After Reed's answer, Sofie grabbed one of the pillows and put it on top of her.

"Damn my parents for –"

"Damn is a bad word…" Brittany interrupted then she realized that she said it too. "Oh…no."

Sofie didn't deter from her sentence. "– not letting me sleepover! I explained to them that Derek was gay (which earned a _bit_ of a reaction from my brother, Augustus) but they _still_ won't let me stay over. They're all _obviously_ mad." Rachel laughed.

"Mum had a nervy b at the thought of me sleeping over here at Birmingham. I had to beg her to let me at least go until dinner." Brittany said. "Mrs. Breaker picked me up during her lunch break." Her smile turned into a small, fleeting frown. "Apparation wasn't _that_ fun though."

Kurt patted Brittany's hand. "You'll get used to it, trust me."

"I'd rather go on Floo." She said.

"Not all places have fireplaces, Brit."

"Wait… So Floo powder doesn't get you _everywhere_?"

"Hey, mates!" Derek entered with a small table levitating behind him. "Happy hour is from four to six!" Reed laughed lightly at the reference, the others paid him no mind, though Brittany didn't really notice since she was a bit apprehensive of Derek using magic outside of school but she remembered what Sofie said about using small magic around other wizards was fine. "Everyone get comfortable because it's not a regular movie, it's a cool movie. Right, Reed?"

Reed just shook his head. He looked at his best friend who was prompting him with his eyes. "Fine." He whispered. "Please stop talking."

"Okay." Derek chuckled and set down the table right beside the bed. The table was laden with different sweets, muggle and wizarding alike. There were Hershey's kisses and chocolate bars, two jars of Nutella, along with a bag of bread, a tub of cookies n' crème ice cream, some Liquorice wands, Treacle fudge, sugar quills, cauldron cakes, and a piping hot bowl of buttered popcorn. All of them, except Reed, just stared at the sweets for a few moments before glancing at their more than chubby friend, figuring that the fat _had_ to come from somewhere. In the middle of it all, there was a tea set, steam still wafting out of the spout. There was an assortment of spoons, bread knives, and saucers beside it. "Does anyone want other drinks?"

"Can I have some milk?" Sofie inquired.

"I'll have some water." Kurt seconded.

"Alright, I'll be back with water and milk for you two. Reed, start the movie without me. Don't worry about eating on the bed, it's alright." Derek grinned and turned around to go back downstairs.

"Hey, Reed." Kurt said as he reached over for the Nutella and bread. Brittany immediately grabbed the bowl of popcorn and started eating. Rachel reached in for some. Reed just put the CD in the player but he didn't play it just yet, sensing a conversation. "I'm asking this seriously now, when did Derek get so talkative?"

"And fat." Sofie added. Kurt shot her a look – something she ignored – and went on to asking, "You won't mind if I spoon the Nutella straight to my mouth, right?"

"Just as long as you don't finish it all by yourself." Reed sighed.

She chortled. "No promises."

"As for the changes, I don't know. He started loving food a little too much last year, you all noticed. The talkativeness is new to me, but since you pointed it out, I guess you're right about it." He said. "I spend a lot of time with him so I don't notice whatever changes you saw."

"Good point." Kurt nodded. "Pass me some Kisses, Sofie."

"What's the magic word?" She said with a spoon in her mouth.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Please."

"Actually, it's '_accio_' but I'll let it slide for now."

"You didn't start the movie yet! I told you to start without me." Derek exclaimed, coming into the room with tall glasses of water and milk. Reed casually lifted the two remotes and made two simultaneous clicks where the TV screen lit up and the movie started playing.

"You're just in time, really." Rachel grinned over her shoulder and grabbed a sugar quill. Derek shook his head and the tub of ice cream and passed it to Reed, who opened it immediately. He poured himself a cup of tea and set it on the bedside drawer. He also took two spoons and gave one to his friend. They reclined on the headboard and they watched the movie in anticipation. They just really wanted to watch the reaction of their friends.

* * *

><p>"We should totally just <em>stab Caesar<em>!"

"Who here has been ever been called a slut?"

"You're almost too gay to function!"

"Hey, I like your shirt, where'd you get it?"

"Oh my mom made it."

"It's so adorable."

"Yeah, it's so fetch."

"What is fetch?"

"You it's like slang… from England."

"Even though it isn't."

"The limit does not exist. The limit does not exist!"

"I have a fifth sense. It's like I have ESPN or something. My _breasts_ can tell when it's raining."

"Hey let's go out."

"I can't. Cough, cough. I'm sick."

"Boo you whore!"

"My Granger! Your hair looks sexy pushed back. Reed, please tell Kurt his hair looks sexy pushed back."

"I know how they settle this in the animal world."

"Holy crap! Reed, are you okay?"

"I'm okay. Not sure about the vase though."

"…It fell on you."

"Yeah, that's why I'm saying it's not so okay." There was a beat of silence before all of them started laughing again and Sofie pulled Reed up from the floor while Kurt mended the vase easily. The movie made a huge impact among the six friends. Even if they watched the movie once, they could still remember most of the funny lines. The room was a total mess, after the laughter and the food flying because of the laughter. If the house was like any regular muggle house without a house elf, it would take them a long time to get the Nutella and tea stains out of the bed. Fortunately, the house _wasn't_ like any regular muggle house without a house elf. It was a regular muggle house _with_ a house elf and six wizards capable of mending broken objects.

Outside, the sun was setting and they were called by Mrs. Breaker to come down to dinner. The smell of dinner was overpowering once they arrived at the kitchen/dining room. Junie sat on the counter right next to Derek's mother, smiling widely. "Junie said you left the room in such a state." She said reproachfully. "You're very lucky Hilde let her elf come over for the day or you will be in so much trouble, mister."

"Oh, Mum." Her son chuckled and gave her a big hug. "That's just us having fun."

"We _did_ manage to fix the broken plates and cups, Mrs. Breaker." Reed said helpfully just as Derek let go of her.

She laughed lightly. "If you say so. Enjoy your dinner, lovelies because I promised Sofia and Brittany's parents that I'll have them home before eight." The two looked like they deflated for a bit. They kind of hoped that Mrs. Breaker would somehow forget and they'll have to spend the night away from London and Bristol. Luck wasn't on their side, and neither were their parents.

Derek looked up at the clock on the wall and sighed. "That's an hour from now."

Mrs. Breaker patted her son's shoulder. "Make the most of it then." And then she sauntered off to another room, probably to watch some TV. They watched her walk out and then turned their attention to the dining table full of food.

"Enjoy your dinner." Junie said with a broad grin and snapped her fingers, disappearing with a _crack_.

It was silent for a heartbeat before Sofie gasped. "Oh my Potter! Onion Rings!"

The six friends ate dinner animatedly, still high on sugar and the movie. They hoped Mrs. Breaker couldn't hear them saying various swear words and insults the movie introduced to them but she did and she tried to pretend she could hear anything since she didn't want to spoil anyone's night. They devoured most of their dinners and were close to bursting when they reached their final bites. The sugar was starting to wear off for Brittany, who was slumped down her chair, playing with her final piece of ravioli. Derek was full, he knew as much, but he couldn't help but look at the leftovers on his friends' plates, thinking, "…Someone needs to eat that." But he restrained himself from saying so. At the turn of the hour, Mrs. Breaker came in – on time as always. Kurt roused Brittany from her drowsy daze and she immediately stood up. Sofie sighed and took one last drink of her water and stood up as well. All of them went to the backdoor; they'll be disapparating in the backyard.

"I hope you had fun." Derek said.

"Of course, we did." Brittany smiled tiredly and threw her arm around him to give him a side hug. "Today was excellent."

"I agree." Sofie said. "It would've been _more_ excellent if we got to stay but I guess we'll have to wait until we could apparate to each other."

"Yeah." He nodded, chuckling. "We'll see each other tomorrow, yeah? At the Leaky Cauldron."

"We'll see. I feel like sleeping in just a little bit." Sofie chuckled and earned a small smack from Rachel. "What? It was a joke!"

"Ready when you are." Mrs. Breaker said kindly and waited in the middle of the yard. They all took turns giving hugs and saying goodbye. It wasn't really for long anyway, they're all going to see each other the next day when they board the train to Hogwarts. Brittany and Sofie walked to their friend's mother and held her hands tightly. "I'll be back soon."

"See ya, mates!" Brittany waved.

"Who are we bringing home first?" She asked. The two pointed to each other, making her laugh. "Alright, it'll be a surprise then." And with that, they popped out of sight. Brittany and Sofie clasped their hands tighter to the older woman, hoping not to be somehow separated while they were being transported to whoever house they're going to first. They held their breaths, as if they could breathe in or out, until they felt like they were in the real world again. They opened their eyes and found themselves in Knackville, Sofie's wizarding village just outside Bristol. Brittany looked around happily to see people in robes walking around and using spells. All of them were using their wands and she's never seen anything like that aside from Diagon Alley. It was quite magical for her, it was the first time she's ever been to a purely magical community where wizards could roam free. Some lights flew over them and a group of children ran pass, chasing the lights, followed by a woman who seemed to be looking after them.

"Hello, Sofie." The woman said with a small nod.

"Hiya, Gea." She smiled and Gea returned the smile before walking to the kids again.

"Who's that?" Brittany asked.

"She's Gea McMann. She's like this babysitting service; she's just earning extra money since her husband works at the Ministry for most of the day so she must've gotten bored now since their son left after Hogwarts, dunno where he is... She's been around since we moved here. She's really nice; I talk to her sometimes when she's not so busy." Sofie answered and turned her head to the direction of her house. She could see its roof, a red amongst a lot of brown. She smiled at the memory of her mum insisting that they paint it a different colour when they bought it. It was also the tallest house on that side of the village so it was easy to spot. "I better go; Mum's probably expecting me by now."

"Do you need us to walk you there?" Mrs. Breaker asked.

"No, thank you." She smiled. "I think Brittany's parents are looking for her. I'm good."

"Alright." Mrs. Breaker nodded. "Goodbye, Sofia."

"Thank you, Mrs. B." She smiled. "Bye, Brit-Brit."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sofie." The blonde grinned and sucked in a breath, signalling Mrs. Breaker that she was ready. They disapparated right in front of everybody and Sofie sighed. She wished her parents let her go to the sleepover. She was _thirteen years old_, she was practically a woman. She wore a _bra_. She concluded again that her parents were mad and that if she was a boy they would've let her stay over. She turned her heel, a little irritated and started walking back home. Knackville was as calm as it's always been. People went along with their business peacefully and cordially, nothing ever happens here – which is why Sofie always liked going to Hogwarts. There she found excitement and something new almost every day; it was enough for her to endure the learning part of the equation. And this year, they were allowed to go to Hogsmeade! She was excited for that ever since her brothers started talking about their visits; it was both informative and exasperating.

Sofie passed the bakery where Gea and the children ended up watching Mr. Francois magically creating another cake for everyone's viewing pleasure. Coupled by the blaring music store right across it, it was something she loved watching for a while. It was the perfect combination, food and music. She spent a part of her ever so boring summer staying there and watching. She could plainly remember her cursing her brothers who were playing Quidditch with the other boys around town, leaving her to fend for herself. But then she remembered that brooms hate her and she immediately dropped the subject as fast as it came up.

"Sofie? Sofie!" The oh-so fun bit about Knackville's music store and bakery was that it was close to her house, it was both a blessing and a curse. "Come home faster! I made pie!" It was her mother.

"Mum! Can you please not scream out of the window?" Sofie complained and walked to her house. No one really did mind though, everyone's used to Tisha Salvadair's eccentricities. "And I'm about to burst, if you value your only daughter's life, you'd not force feed her into bursting from the seams."

Her mother huffed, rolled her eyes, and slammed the window shut. _Oh Weasley. I hope she hasn't locked me out yet._ She ran to the gate and immediately walked in before her mother does anything drastic, it was known to happen from time to time because her mum likes to do things like that just to watch them squirm a little bit. It was both funny and cruel. "I'm home!" Sofie called when she closed the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Brittany sighed out a breath when they appeared in an alley in London, a block away from her house. The two of them walked out of the alley inconspicuously and nobody seemed to find them any more suspicious than any other person on the walkway. "Do you come to London often, Mrs. Breaker? You seem to know your way around." She asked, looking up to the older woman.<p>

"Yes I do." She answered. "We've just opened a new Breaking Bookstore here so I have to go here from time to time to see it. _Someone_ has to protect it from the Flourish and Blott's enthusiasts who think I'm stealing buyers from their favourite bookstore." She laughed and erased any sense of anxiety from Brittany's thoughts. "Honestly, the nerve of some people." The girl nodded in agreement. They went silent for the rest of the walk home. They didn't have much to talk about and they knew that trying a conversation between a son's friend and a friend's mother would end up awkward – even Brittany knew that. It was a long five minutes before Mrs. Breaker walked to the Pierce's door and rang the doorbell. The door opened a crack and Lord Tubbington's head squeezed out the bottom.

Brittany shook her head disapprovingly. "Lord Tubbington, I know you've been waiting for me to get back home for a long time but how many times do I have to tell you? You're not allowed to answer the door, people around here won't understand."

"Brittany, you're home!" Her mom opened the door fully after peeking through the crack. The fat cat purred against his owner's legs and she hefted him up in her arms. Mrs. Breaker was a little surprised that Brittany could hoist a cat that was about as big as a very fat piglet. Her mom turned to the other woman and smiled gratefully. "Thank you for bringing her home safely."

"It's my pleasure, Phoebe." Mrs. Breaker smiled. "May I come in?"

"Oh, do witches have to be invited in to actually get in? I don't remember than from the pamphlet." She cocked her head to the side as Brittany walked in, cooing at her cat.

Mrs. Breaker refused to laugh, she could now see where the apple fell from and it wasn't far off. She smiled politely. "No, not really. I was just being polite."

Mrs. Pierce made an 'o' shape with her mouth in realization. "Right… Come in, Rachel."

"Thank you."

"I had fun, Mrs. B. Thank you for letting me stay at your house. And for giving birth to Derek." Brittany smiled from the couch, where she was tangled with Lord Tubbington, who was falling asleep on her chest.

"No problem, Brittany." Mrs. Breaker laughed. "I'll be going home now. I need to survey what damage Derek and the others have done to the house." Mrs. Pierce laughed nervously, hoping she was really joking. She nodded at Mrs. Pierce and disappeared right in front of her, earning a scream from the muggle. There was a crash from the kitchen.

"Phoebe? Are you okay?"

"Mum! Calm down. She just disapparated." Brittany said, sitting up, jostling her cat from his stupor. He angrily walked to her knees. It could be a little frustrating for her to have muggle parents. She could only imagine what it would be like when she started apparating too. Then she wondered about what she was going to do after Hogwarts. She silently worried if her parents decided to send her to university or some muggle school before she could finish. Then she wondered if disapparation was good for cats.

Her mother clutched her chest and caught her breath. "I'm sorry, dear. But oh my God, what the hell was that?"

"She kinda teleported." Brittany answered the rhetorical question. Mrs. Pierce looked at her daughter, who shrugged. "It's a wizard thing."

She was suddenly flooded by thoughts of her daughter teleporting. "Oh, _bloody_ –"

"Dad! Have you fed Lord Tubbington yet? He looks tired." Brittany called to the kitchen, hefting her fat cat into her arms once again.

"Yes I did and maybe he just wants to go to bed, sweetie." Her father answered.

"Alright. It's bedtime for you, Mr. Tubbington." She said happily, giving the cat a peck on the head. "We're going back to Hogwarts tomorrow." She lopped back upstairs. She couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts. She wanted to be back to the place where she could do magic, where she can hold her wand whenever she wanted to. She loved her parents, she really did, but sometimes they just couldn't get how much fun she's having being a witch. She always feared that one day they would make her stay home instead of going to Hogwarts – for that she was thinking up a "just in case" plan but so far she got until "packing" before she was distracted by a butterfly flying in her room. The plan was forgotten most of the time. "And this year, I get to audition to the Nightingales, and go to the village near the school." She swayed to imaginary music as she climbed the stairs, earning an apprehensive look from her mum. "Then we'll have more magic fun."

Paul walked up behind her wife, who was staring after their daughter, and wrapped his arms around her. "You're getting that worried look again."

"I just feel like she's going to do something there and it's not going to be pretty." She said with a sigh. "She's just so… innocent."

He kissed her cheek. "Her friends will take care of her, remember that."

"But what is she going to do after that school? It's not like she could find a job –"

"Hey, stop worrying. She's still on her third year." Paul said soothingly. "She's got four more years ahead of her. If you think about it, it's a long time."

"I can't help it, I'm her mum."

"And you're doing a good job at it."

* * *

><p>Up in her room, Brittany was getting Lord Tubbington ready for bed. She already wrestled him into his pyjamas and won't be free of them until the next day. She had his fur combed to perfection and was in the process of brushing his teeth with a small saucer of milk. She thought it was her obligation to do so and Lord Tubbington already grew tired of even attempting to escape his owner's love-smothering tendencies. (But he still didn't like the pyjamas.) Afterwards, when she's put him into his little cat bed, she went back into the bathroom to get herself ready for bed. She smiled at her reflection.<p>

"Another year of impossible." She said, she's been saying that since her first year at Hogwarts. She's lived as a muggle almost all her life and then suddenly two years ago someone told her, "hey, you're magical." It's really quite fulfilling when you're told that you're magical. It was like she had purpose in life again. She was still teased for her ditziness like the other girls at school did before Hogwarts, but at least she wasn't entirely stupid at everything since she had Charms. She's looking at everything differently now (more differently than she did). Gone were the questions on how heavy planes flew, how boats stayed afloat, how buildings stayed up during a storm, where babies came from, how was chocolate made, how time worked, how clocks were made, and how vending machines got sweets – it was magic. She knew it in her soul that almost everything was, one way or another, magical unless her friends told her otherwise. Since they obviously didn't say otherwise to those questions (though her not asking them kind of helped) she kept the notion of everything was powered by magic. She smiled wider at her reflection, accidentally causing the bathroom items to start moving on their own. She laughed and closed the door since the window was right across and everyone could see. She didn't want to get expelled. But she let the items fly around, nonetheless. She picked her toothbrush out of the air but she still had to look for her toothpaste.

* * *

><p>The four friends were sitting on Derek's floor. The floor was transfigured to a huge mattress to accommodate Reed, Kurt, and Rachel. There was barely any space that wasn't a mattress except for the spaces in front of the closet doors, the bathroom door, and the room's door. It was a very comfortable looking room that reminded Reed of his very own back home. They were all in the night clothes and were all done getting groomed for bed. Kurt was the last one to come from the bathroom – and for good reason, he took about fifteen minutes, five minutes longer than Rachel. It was strange since they've never really been with Kurt while he was getting ready and though they did hear about his "skin regimen" they didn't think it would take that long. It made them wonder just a <em>little<em>. But they didn't want to bring it up because it might hurt his feelings and Derek thought it would be better if he told them himself. They were told that lights out was at nine so they won't wake up late for tomorrow's big day. But it was already a quarter after ten and though they were a bit drowsy, they didn't fall asleep just yet.

"So you aren't going to tell your parents yet?" Kurt asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the subject since he still hadn't told anyone about himself. He just kept pushing it deeper and deeper every day, though he thought his friends already suspected.

Derek shook his head and leaned on his bed. "I'm scared of how they'll take it, you know?" He tucked his legs as far as he could tuck them against his big body and wrapped his chubby arms around his legs. "I don't want to be out on the street." The mere thought paralyzed him with fear. He's read all the stories, of abuse, of abandonment. He was glad that he had friends like them but his parents were different. He didn't know how they would react. The gay subject wasn't really something talked about at home so he couldn't really tell. "And it's awkward to even bring up."

Rachel placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk to my dads about it? I'm sure they could help."

He shook his head. "Thanks though. I think it'll be uncomfortable talking to an adult."

She smiled and patted his shoulder. "Fair enough."

"Just know we're here for you, yeah?" Reed said. "You can Floo Powder to our houses if anything gets out of hand."

Derek laughed. "Yeah. Thanks. Let's all hope it won't. Then again, I think I won't be – what's it called? – coming out to them any time soon. I reckon it's safer if I wait until I can apparate." He turned to his friends, whose eyes showed their concern. He smiled at them but he lingered on Kurt, he hoped that his friend was really gay so they could share problems. Since Kurt won't speak up, he decided that he'll have to go on it alone for a while. Nothing really happens at Hogwarts anyway, except for some heckling coming from other students since he was a Hufflepuff but he could live with it. Everyone did. "What do you think Brittany and Sofie are doing right now?" He asked, subtly changing the subject during a short bout of silence.

"Sofie's probably asleep now." Rachel said. "Or really wide awake."

"And Brittany's probably curled up with Lord Tubbington again." Derek joked, but only a little bit, it happened quite a lot in Hufflepuff house. Reed and Kurt laughed and Rachel hushed them hastily since they weren't supposed to be awake at the moment. "It's true though."

"Yeah. I'm kind of scared for her. I don't know how we're going to get her through the O.W.L.s." Kurt mused, fiddling with his buttons.

"There are perfectly good careers for wizards who only have Charms O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s." Reed said. "I'm sure Brittany'll find _something_." Then his eyes went wide and he snapped his fingers. "I have a feeling it would be dancing. Do you remember Halloween last year?" His friends nodded. "There you go! Brit Brit's going to be a dancer."

"She _has_ been talking about it for a while." Rachel nodded. "She'll be a good addition to the Nightingales this year. Which reminds me! Kurt, I heard we're going to Beauxbatons this year for the choir competition! Aren't you excited?"

Kurt's expression went brighter and brighter with every passing word, he wasn't excited, he was _ecstatic_. "Beauxbatons? Really? Oh that's spectacular news! I've always wanted to go to France."

"Not just France," Rachel continued, "it's said that the school is in the south of France, near Cannes!"

"You two better write us about the school!" Reed said. "We want every boring detail."

"I'm sure Rachel will give you just what you want." Kurt said jokingly at Rachel's expense. He meant it, though.

She huffed and sat up straighter, her arms akimbo. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, I'm just putting you in charge of chronicling our month long trip to Beauxbatons." Kurt smirked, earning a pillow to the face. They smothered their laughs with the nearest object they could find, Rachel with her pillow, Derek with his fist, Kurt and Reed on the mattress floor. When they sobered down they sat in silence, listening for Mr. or Mrs. Breaker to come knocking at the door, chastising them for staying up later than they were supposed to, but nothing came.

Derek absently twirled a loose thread on his blanket and said, "Do you think it's worth risking Mum getting angry if I go down, grab a tub of ice cream and watch another movie?"

"If we could do a decent Silencing Charm, then yes." Rachel said. "Unfortunately, we're not going to learn that until fifth year."

"That's too bad then…" Derek sighed. "I don't want to go to sleep just yet."

"Speak for yourself, Dere." Reed yawned and fell back into the mattress floor. "I am bloody tired."

"You weren't a few minutes ago." His friend said back, feigning a tone of disbelief. "I feel quite betrayed! Offended even!"

"I'm not sure if I'll ever _really_ get used to this noisy Derek." Kurt chuckled, lying down on the mattress floor across Reed.

Derek pointed at him accusingly. "Not you too!"

Kurt choffed. "Annoyed already."

"Throw a book at him, it'll shut him up." Reed laughed.

"You'll do no such thing!" Derek exclaimed and his next statement was cut off immediately after a knock sounded from the door. "Oh, crap."

"Boys," Mr. Breaker opened the door and popped his head in, "and Rachel," she smiled sweetly up at him, "you need to go to sleep. You still have to wake up early for the train tomorrow." They all nodded. "Off to bed with you lot." He said with shooing hand gestures. Derek climbed up his bed, embarrassed that they were caught by his dad but he guessed that the fun had to stop some time. Reed produced a few blankets from the closet and Kurt took out a few pillows for Reed and him. Once they were all lied down, Mr. Breaker nodded and turned off the lights, leaving the room dark except for some of the moonlight that shined down through the windows. Rachel giggled.

"What?" Kurt asked in a whisper.

"That was so awkward." She giggled again, making the others laugh along with her for a while. Then they were all silent again. Kurt and Rachel were tossing and turning in the new environment they were sleeping in. Reed was comfortable where he was on the floor, though he usually slept in Derek's queen sized bed. (No one had to know that just yet.) Derek was almost near unconsciousness when he heard a soft voice in the background.

"Can't sleep?" Reed whispered.

"Yeah," came the answer of his two friends. "Is Derek awake?" Kurt added.

"Dere?" Rachel called out. He was somewhere between sleep and awake, he didn't want to answer anymore because he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep then. "I guess he's asleep." She slumped back down into the bed.

"I know my first night here. It was Derek's first night too. They'd _just_ moved." Reed said, propping his elbow up so he can place his head on it. Kurt and Rachel turned their heads to face him. "When the lights were turned off and everything was quiet, we couldn't sleep, if you can only imagine. It was too dark, too quiet. The trees were creeping us out, so we sang. You know, filled the night. We sang softly, of course, since his parents were just down the hall. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep first." Reed smiled at the memory. Derek did too, very slightly.

"What did you sing?" Rachel asked.

Reed paused, thinking about it. "I forgot the title. It was ages ago. But I'm quite sure that it was by that band – Classless."

"Didn't they disband a couple of years back?" Kurt asked. "Something about a horrible Erumpent accident?"

"Yeah." Reed nodded. "I remember it was all over the Daily Prophet for a full week."

"Can you still remember the lyrics? Daddy L plays their music in the house all the time. I think I might join in." Rachel suggested then turned to Kurt. "It'll be great practice for blending our voices together, don't you think?"

Kurt chortled. "Actually, Rachel, that isn't a bad idea." The thought of singing for comfort was a tantalizing activity for that night. He turned to Reed. "Sing."

"Oh… I don't think I can. I mean – you two are amazing and –"

"Just do it, Van Kamp." Kurt snapped a little bit.

"First of all, thank you for the compliment and second of all, it's just us three. It's not like you're singing in front of an audience." Rachel added with a bright grin.

Reed gulped audibly at the thought of an audience. "_You're_ an audience."

"An audience that won't judge your vocal talent." Rachel said pacifyingly. Though she won't judge his vocal talent, Kurt might. He could remember Reed mentioning something about _possibly_ auditioning in the succeeding years and if male lead competition was hard enough as it was, Kurt needed to see how worthy of an opponent Reed is.

Reed sighed in defeat and tried to remember the start of the song, humming to himself while the other two waited. Finally, he snapped his fingers together and began singing a familiar tune that immediately had Rachel's ears perked up and vocal chords ready. She sang along with him and so did Kurt. They were amusingly surprised by Reed's singing voice. He didn't a really high register as Kurt (something he was very happy about since he prided himself with his outstanding vocal range) and it wasn't exactly low either. It was smack dab in the middle of the tenor range and it was a decent voice. They all sang the song perfectly – beautifully, even. They knew all the lyrics even if they were aware that they haven't properly heard the song for _ages_. It completely lulled Derek to sleep right after the second chorus. Once the first song was finished, Kurt started a new one, this time by a wizarding singer named Althea Duskwort. The song was a little out of Reed's range but he managed to blend his voice along with the other two. The three of them sang to their heart's content, Kurt being the last to fall asleep.

* * *

><p>Rachel's eyes went wide open to the sound of the door being knocked on and Derek's mum telling them to wake up. Her eyes shifted to the wall clock which said nine-ten. She sat up, groggily rubbing her eyes. Upon opening them again, she saw Derek covering his head with a pillow, Kurt twitching in his sleep, and Reed stretching on the mattress floor. The knocking stopped. "Wake up, children! Go bathe and get dressed, we're meeting the others in the Leaky Cauldron in an hour! Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes!"<p>

"Morning." Reed muttered, barely caught by Rachel, who replied in the same manner. She patted her bed hair down but found it no use. She grabbed her bag and looked to the bathroom then back to the boys. "You know, you can go first if you want to. I still want to sleep for a bit." They shared a smile before Rachel got up and walked to the bathroom and Reed dropped into his pillow once again.

Rachel walked up to the mirror and found her hair in complete disarray. She sighed and took out her tooth brush. She _had_ tried waking up in the morning looking like a princess as practice for when she becomes famous and the paparazzi would be all up in her business. She hadn't perfected it yet and she believed that there must be some sort of spell for it. She looked at herself in the mirror again after putting the paste on the brush and started cleaning her teeth. Then it hit her, it was _her_ year now. It was where she was allowed to shine, allowed a solo at some point in time – most preferably immediately. "You have the talent, don't worry." She muttered to herself before holding her hair back to spit into the sink. "Professor Schue recognized talent the moment I came into that room two years ago." She turned the tap on so she can cup her hand to give herself a ship of tap water so she can rinse. She stared at herself, mentally giving her the pep talk of the century. Nothing will stand in her way of getting a solo and wowing the judges immediately at the Beauxbatons choir competition. "Nothing, you hear me? Nothing." She said.

_Not even Kurt, perhaps?_ A voice said and Rachel's mouth went a little unhinged at the sudden thought. Kurt was competition. She and Kurt shared the same musical taste. Kurt had – dare she say it out loud – almost the same vocal range. He can easily beat her out of he wanted it enough. But she was Rachel Berry. No one could've wanted it more than her. "Not even Kurt." She nodded to herself and she buried the feeling of dread that appeared in her stomach. She assured herself that Kurt was one of her best friends, he would understand.

Rachel bathed leisurely, noticing that the boys didn't start knocking relentlessly at the door. During the middle of her bath though, the door outside was getting banged on again, this time, Mr. Breaker spoke up loud enough for her to hear. "Boys! You best be down for breakfast by the time it's ten or else." There was a groan from the room and Rachel laughed.

"Or else what?" She giggled to herself and decided it was time to finish washing herself up since the boys would be getting up by now. As she towelled herself dry, she heard the boys' muffled discussion of who was going to go first. They were arguing if Kurt should go first or last. Kurt wanted to go first but Reed and Derek insisted that he was going to take too long. Rachel rolled her eyes. "They're such girls." And she put on the tights, skirt, and sweater that fit her just right. She thought was absolutely adorable. She was combing her hair when there was a knock on the door.

"Rach? Are you done?" Derek asked.

"Yeah! I'm going to go out now." She called, mid comb and picked up her bag that was full of discarded clothes and toiletries. Her eyes narrowed at the messed up bag and reminded herself that she had to organize it before once she was done fixing her hair. She opened the door to Derek, holding his clothes and towel. "Good morning." She said with a wide smile that she's perfected over the years.

"Morning." He said with a small smile and she let him enter the bathroom. She turned to Reed and Kurt and greeted them a good morning. The two just stared at her outfit, Kurt's eyebrow higher than Reed's. The red skirt and white tights were fine – presentable even – if only she just plucked out that sequin star on her hip. Their eyes moved upward to her sweater. It was the same hue as her skirt, only with some boring white stripe pattern on her chest. She looked down at what she was wearing and then looked up to her friends with a confused expression.

"Rachel." Reed spoke up. "Where did you get your sweater?"

"Oh, my granny made it for me last year. I can't believe it still fits, right?" She said hugging herself. "Don't you just love it?"

Kurt looked at her outfit again, up and down. "What shoes are you wearing?" Rachel rummaged through her bag and pulled out a pair of white ballet flats proudly, thinking that she's grown in her fashion sense by buying those flats. The two boys sighed. "I give up." Kurt said, sitting down on Derek's bed and taking out his outfit for the day.

Reed patted her shoulder. "It's – uh – pretty unique." He said comfortingly though Rachel could sense his hesitation, like he wanted to take her by the shoulders and ask her what was wrong with her and her fashion choices. But she thought it was a very cute outfit and she felt very fuzzy and warm wearing it, so she decided that _they_ were wrong.

* * *

><p>They arrived at the Leaky Cauldron right via Floo powder at the moment the clock struck ten-ten, and it was all thanks to Rachel Breaker's impeccable sense of time and scheduling and nagging. They were all covered in soot. Kurt coughed and Derek patted his friend's back as he picked Reed up from the floor. Reed then put their fallen chests upright with the help of Rachel. Erik screeched loudly in his cage, earning the attention of most of the wizards and witches in the place. Derek was quick to silence it with a treat from Reed's pocket. Alec shook his fur but there was still a lot of dust on him. Derek's parents came soon after. Mr. Breaker was complaining a little bit about the Floo network. "I tell you, that the most inhumane –"<p>

"Noah, dear, if you value your life, you will keep quiet." Mrs. Breaker snapped and Derek just slapped his hand on his face. Mr. Breaker grumbled to himself and started patting the soot out of his clothes.

Kurt coughed one last time before looking up the older lady. "Mrs. Breaker – if I may – clean us please."

"Certainly, dear." Mrs. Breaker waved her wand and cleaned them all just in time to hear Brittany's squeal of delight. Kurt barely had time to be relieved that his outfit was no longer soiled since Brittany latched on to him tightly for a hug. She bounded to each of her friends, each earning a hug and a big smile. She clearly was happy that day. She wasn't like the other muggle-borns who go to Hogwarts and quickly adapt to magic. She was treating it like it was a theme park her parents let her live in, ergo, excitement.

Sofie came out to greet her friends as well. "I didn't think you could force Kurt back into the Floo network." She said, chuckling. A plump lady came from the room Sofie and Brittany were residing, followed by Brittany's parents who were a little shifty in the establishment. Rachel and Kurt's fathers came out a second later, causing the two to run up and give them big hugs. "Oh, mates! Meet my mum, Tisha Salvadair. My dad and brothers went ahead; Midas and Augustus wanted to meet up with some mates." Sofie shrugged while Mrs. Salvadair walked forward with a grand smile and held out her hand immediately. She shook Sofie's friends' hands vigorously.

"Hello, hello. Sofie's told me a _lot_ about you. You're quite a group, aren't you?" She said to the four newcomers. "All from different houses," she laughed, "when I was your age, everyone from the same house stuck together. It was a _hoot_. Ah, Rachel." She smiled at Mrs. Breaker. "Pleased to see you again. Thank you for bringing my daughter home safely."

"It was my pleasure, Tish." They shared an airy laugh. "Might I introduce you to my husband, Noah Breaker?" Mrs. Salvadair took his hand into hers and shook it cheerily. Mr. Breaker was just stunned at the brash behaviour but he took it silently, knowing well that this was a witch. "Is the car here yet?"

"Yes!" Phoebe announced from the back. "It came just a minute before you all arrived. All their luggage are already in the boot, well, except for Reed and Derek's of course."

"Lovely."

"Car?" Rachel inquired.

"Oh yes, we are driving to Kings' Cross today." Mrs. Breaker announced. "And since we came here ahead of schedule I think it'd be fair if we treat the children to some McDonalds?" Every child's face lit up, McDonald's fame didn't escape the wizarding world and the children immediately asked their parents to give them some money to buy some snacks (save Reed whose mother was already in Diagon Alley and had left him to the care of her friend, Mrs. Breaker, who will play temporary parent). "For the trip," they insisted. "I'll get hungry," they said. "If you love me, you'll give me money for a sundae and fries… and nuggets," Derek pleaded. In the end the parents conceded to the children's requests and they all went to the car, a Rolls Royce Phantom, with cheers.

After Derek and Reed put their chests in the boot, they piled into the car. Mr. Breaker watched as child after child, adult after adult climbed in. "How the devil are we going to fit in that?" He asked his wife.

"Noah, surely you hadn't forgotten that some of us are actually wizards." Mrs. Breaker hissed and tapped the roof of the car. "Undetectable Extension Charm." She said. "Now, please, can you get through a day without comment?"

"How is this _my_ fault?"

"Honestly, Noah, can we not do this here?" She begged, mirroring her son's quiet efforts to convey the thought to them. He was already embarrassed by them and he was trying to look as small as possible. Not only were his friends with him but his friends' _parents_ were with him. "It's magic; we've been married for more than fifteen years, can we _not_?"

"Fine." He threw his arms into the air in defeat and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you." She said the same time Derek whispered it in the car. They got in and Mrs. Salvadair told the driver to drive them to the nearest McDonalds. Inside the car, Mr. Breaker could barely notice the little shift in the size of the car. It looked slightly bigger in the inside. Kurt and Rachel sat by their fathers, giving the usual report from last night. Sofie, Derek, Reed, and Brittany huddled at the back, talking animatedly about the train ride and the new classes they were taking that year.

After they raided McDonalds, they arrived at Kings' Cross five minutes later. Their take out baggies were on top of their trolleys as they walked down the platforms. Sofie and Brittany lead the charge, Brittany because she was so close to running to the platform and Sofie because they were feeding Lord Tubbington some nuggets, which both of the girls found amusing (more so with the blonde). "Do you think we'll see a unicorn this year? I mean I've heard older students talk about them but I haven't actually seen one." Brittany said as she fed another nugget into her cat's mouth. Lord Tubbington chewed on it lazily. "Have you?"

"Yeah, like two times in my whole existence." Sofie answered, taking a nugget for herself. "They don't pass by Knackville that much. Not one passed when I got my camera a couple of years ago. It's horribly unfair. Do you think Professor Hagrid would let us bring cameras to the lessons?"

"Probably." Brittany raised one shoulder in a half shrug. "He's a cool professor. Kind of like Professor Weadell."

"Ah, Professor Weadell, how I miss her so." Sofie mused wistfully, swaying a little bit as she walked. "I can't wait to see her again."

"Me too!" Her friend nodded in assent. "I got really high marks in History, and that's _really_ a surprise. It's about as high as my Charms grades. By the way, I'm excited for Charms, did I say that already?"

"Yeah, you did." Sofie chuckled, nudging her friend's side. "That and countless other things. You're excited for everything, mate."

"That's because I am." Brittany grinned broadly at her friend and turned her head to see the platforms nine and ten right in front of her. "We're here!" She said and since the platform didn't have anyone coming towards it, she broke into a run.

"Brit! Wait!" Sofie laughed and was hot in the heels of the blonde girl. The others turned to their parents, with smiles that asked for permission, all of them nodded and they ran after them, calling out their names, telling them to slow down. Reed was at the end of their line, having stepped on his shoe laces. He told them to go ahead as he quickly tried to tie them again.

"Brittany!" Mrs. Pierce screeched, her husband swiftly putting his arm around her shoulder for comfort and so she wouldn't start running after their child. "Be careful!" As she said it, her daughter disappeared behind the wall and so did her friend. Derek followed them into the platform immediately, as did Rachel. Kurt looked over his shoulder to be sure that Reed was already running towards the platform before he walked through the doorway. There was a quick blur of concrete before he heard new chatter of Hogwarts' students and their parents. He hastily pushed his trolley to his friends' direction just in time for Reed to burst into the platform.

"You okay?" Kurt asked as Reed approached them.

"Yeah. It wasn't that big of a deal, really." Reed replied, absently rubbing his elbow. "I've had worse."

Kurt sniggled. "Right, because _that's_ comforting."

Reed gave him a soft punch on the shoulder and laughed. "Well it should be." Their parents came to the platform a few seconds after Reed did and they started moving towards the baggage compartment. That was when their parents immediately swooped in to give them last minute reminders.

"Derek, take care of Reed and vice versa." Mrs. Breaker said as she straightened her son's coat collar. "And do start watching what you eat, you're a teenager now, you better start watching your weight. It can be very bad for your health, you know."

Derek took a few fries from his McDonalds bag and ate them. "Sure, sure." He said as he and Reed nodded.

"Don't forget do send us your weekly letters explaining your status." Mrs. Salvadair noted beside the Breakers.

"Yes, Mum, I won't forget." Sofie smiled sweetly.

"Good girl." She smiled. "Now I must be off, I still have to look for your father." After a quick hug, the mother and daughter separated.

"Don't touch, look, or drink anything suspicious." Phoebe started. "Listen to your teachers and peers when it comes to danger. Try to not spend your money on your first visit to that wizard village. Don't forget to send us a letter every month. Keep warm! And –"

"I think she gets it." Paul patted his wife's shoulder. "Don't you, Brittany?" She was looking at the train, waving at some of the Hufflepuffs who knew her. "Brittany!" She whipped her head towards them and smiled.

"Yeah?"

"Don't _touch, look, or_ –"

"Were you even listening?" Her dad interrupted his wife' hysterical tirade.

She looked up at the roof thoughtfully before shaking her head. "…No." Her mother immediately went back to her instructions in a higher frequency that would've been heard by the whole dog population in a mile long radius.

"Tell Finn if _anything_–"

"Dad, I'm fully capable of defending myself." Kurt said with a slightly annoyed tone but he figured that his father just wanted him to be safe. At least he wasn't constantly being lectured like the Pierces were doing to their daughter, whose eyes kept darting to the train. "Yes, I will go to Finn if something's happening that _I_ can't deal with on my own, yeah?"

Burt nodded. However, he _did_ only want his son to be safe. He knew very well that even though Hogwarts was safe…Children would be children. Teenagers would be teenagers. He's had questions about his son. He didn't really mention it just to avoid the awkwardness of it all but that didn't stop him from confiding to Carole about his thoughts. He suspected that Kurt wasn't a regular boy judging from the way his dressed, how long he spends time in the bathroom, how he speaks, how he acts, _hell_ his voice was a dead giveaway. When he was Kurt's age, his voice started changing. Burt did cling to the hope that his son wasn't gay. That sounded bad when he thought about it but Kurt was his _son_ and sure he would accept him no matter what but it would be different somehow. And he _remembers_ what boys did when they even suspect that someone's gay. A school's a school and a school would have bullies, no matter how strict they are. Nevertheless, he clasped a hand on his son's shoulder and sighed. "Alright. Okay. _But_ if it gets out of hand, go to Finn or a superior."

Kurt was a little perplexed by the sudden forcefulness of his father's voice. He didn't know what brought this on, though it was the same thing year in and year out, "tell Finn, tell a teacher". Somehow this was different this year. Kurt thought that it was because they started going to Hogsmeade and teachers would be around as much. On the other hand, his father's reason was that, as teenagers, they tend to get a little more aggressive than they were in first or second year. Burt meant to etch into his brain to ask for help when necessary. His son nodded and smiled. "That's my boy."

Right beside the Hummels, Rachel and her dads were talking. "You'll be there when we get to Beauxbatons, right?"

"When have we missed a performance?" Daddy V told her and he gave her a side hug making her giggle and hug back. "That's right, _never_."

"We've been there every step of the way, love. We don't intend to stop any time soon." Daddy L leaned down and kissed the top of her head. The two fathers were very proud of their daughter and were really excited that she was finally allowed to join the competitions. They were sure that there were other talented members but this was Rachel Berry. Both fathers (but mostly Daddy L) were sure that their daughter would trump all living competition. They _did_ get a little worried that she would get carried away with ambition but they knew she was smart to discern when not to let it get the best of her. Unfortunately, she thought otherwise.

"Don't forget to drink tea before performing." Daddy L said. "It's good for the nerves and the voice."

"Remember all the lessons you got." Daddy V added. "And don't forget to brush your teeth after you wake up and before you go to sleep. And floss!"

"Finally, don't forget to write. You know our hearts will _break_ if you don't write." The three Berrys laughed. Rachel wrapped her arms around their waists and pulled them into a tight hug just in time for the group to arrive at the baggage compartment.

"I'll miss you, Dads."

"We'll miss you too, love."

After they put their heavy baggage into the compartment and hugged their parents goodbye (Reed gave an obligatory hug to Mrs. Breaker though he wished that his mum was there, maybe even his dad but he didn't dwell on it), the six friends entered the train with their carry-ons filled with treats from McDonalds and various items they need for the train ride. They wove through the train and the students in it. They said hello to people from their house and other friends they made during their years at Hogwarts. Rachel walked at the front, looking for empty compartments. So far, everything was full but it was still early, surely there were still _some_ unfilled ones.

"Any luck, Rach?" Sofie called from the rear as she squeezed through a couple of friends walking to the opposite direction.

"Not yet but – hey!" Rachel was pushed to the side by someone walking in a rush.

"Sorry!" She recognized the face belonging to her prefect's ex-boyfriend. He was followed by her prefect, who said nothing to the students he was forcing to the walls (and in Reed's case, to the floor, though it was a total accident).

Ed was aggravated by Lux's insistence and flirtatiousness. He didn't want anything to do with the Slytherin but he still wouldn't give up. Though it was audacious of him – something Ed admired just a little bit – he wouldn't take a hint. He didn't want them to get back together after Lux wrongfully accused him of possibly cheating, plus their relationship was going downhill, they would just end up breaking up again as soon as they got back together (he wouldn't admit that he's given it some thought). Sure he was being stubborn but that's just the way he was. "Go away Lux. Excuse me." He said to a frightened looking first year. He spotted his friends waving at him from a compartment and he immediately looked relieved.

"But, Ed!" Lux shoved through children, uncaring if they were hurt or not, he just wanted to talk to the Ravenclaw he was still in love with. He didn't want to think that Ed already moved on or anything like that. He would personally jinx the next bloke who would dare take his place. He was getting Ed back or die trying. "I got front row tickets to –"

"I don't care!" Ed cried over his shoulder. "We broke up. I don't want to get back together. How many times do I have to say it?" They were causing a scene in the train and Ed just wanted it to be over with. This was embarrassing and Lux is supposed to be a _prefect_. "Do us all a favour and try to move on."

Lux growled in frustration. "Just listen to me!"

"I am done listening to you, Bellmore." Ed groaned and started walking into the compartment.

"They're front row seats to Hindley and the Hippogriffs," Ed hesitated for a moment. He didn't think Lux knew they were his favourite band but he thought against it, physically shaking himself from the notion of sitting beside Lux in a concert. He began closing the door causing Lux to speak faster. "And I was wondering if," the door slammed and the prefect sighed, "if you wanted to come with me." He groaned and banged his head on the wooden part of the door. Why wouldn't Ed just give him a second chance?

Lux stood up straight and looked at the hallway. "What are _you_ looking at?" He snapped and everyone went back to their business. He stalked back to the prefects' carriage. He passed by a few sixth years and slapped the tickets into a girl's hand. "Here, have fun at the concert." He said bitterly and went back to stalking. The girl cringed as he did before opening her eyes. She then smiled and her friend squealed in delight. The concert was sold out and it was like a sign from God that they were meant to go.

"He hasn't been the same since the break-up." Rachel sighed and they continued walking. "He's a lot meaner and he doesn't crack that much jokes anymore." She peeked into another compartment and was happy that it was empty. She led her friends inside and closed the door behind her. "Sydney tries to keep him in shape but sometimes they just end up attacking each other in the common room."

Brittany scrunched his nose as she and Derek let the cats out of their cages. "That doesn't sound like a safe place to be."

"It isn't." Rachel said directly. "That's why it's better for a Slytherin's health to stay inside their rooms when Lux is around. The braver ones don't leave. What about Ed?"

"We aren't really that close." Reed answered. "I don't see him often in Ravenclaw. But I think he's doing the same."

"Isn't it sad when one is still hung up when the other's just fine?" Sofie thought aloud, sitting at the corner of the compartment. They didn't get a seat that faced the station so she couldn't see her parents before the train left but that was okay. The view was still picturesque. "It's about as sad as unrequited love."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Kurt asked as he put his bag up on the top shelf.

"Well… yeah. I suppose so. But… take Lux and Ed for example, they were so in love and gay and now that they broke up, Lux is still hung up on Ed and Ed apparently isn't and Lux is still chasing after his ex, that's really sad and kind of pathetic. No offense." She said to Rachel, who just waved it away with an "okay". Sofie continued her observation. "Then there's unrequited love, for example, Harry Potter and I. I'm in love with that hero, he's bloody fit and he doesn't even know I exist and he's got that," Sofie made a face, "_ginger_ girlfriend of his."

"That counts as obsession, not love." Kurt chuckled.

"What's wrong with being ginger?" Reed asked, mildly offended.

She raised a palm to her friend's face, also ignoring Reed's side comment. Kurt swatted it away as soon as it was up. "Regardless, still an example." Then she sighed. "But if you really want an example of unrequited love, let us look at me and my crush –"

"Which one?" Derek snorted.

"Shall I get the list?" Reed started ruffling through his bag for an imaginary list. "Oh, is he on list A or list B?"

Sofie rolled her eyes, laughing. She smacked Reed over his head. "Yeah, ha-ha. Shut up you two. I'm talking about Logan Wright."

"Did the theory that he might be gay leave you mind?" Rachel grinned.

"No, it's still there but he's still fit so it doesn't matter." Sofie shrugged then waved off the statekment. "Anyway, totally in love with him, he doesn't know, he'll _never _know," she glared at Reed who started whistling, "and he probably likes boys. There you go."

"All hail the all-knowing Sofia Salvadair." Kurt said mockingly, raising his hands over his head and started bowing.

Their friend flipped her hair and said, "I know, right? Not only am I a Ravenclaw, Sofia also translates to wisdom." Then they all started laughing.

They started the train ride with a toast (using various McDonald's food containers) to Hogwarts. They just finished the rest of their food. It was quite an uneventful train ride filled with some song singing, cats playing, and sleeping. At some point, Sofie found the strength to stretch her legs and visit her other friends, Kurt jumped out to do the same. He only did that because Evan, Ethan, and Shane pelted him with those accursed Nerf bullets that messed up his hair. They needed to pay. Derek went back to his default setting, which was with a book, once the conversations died down and everyone's just relaxing. Aside from visits from other friends, the rest of the afternoon was quiet.

* * *

><p>"I really don't know what we got ourselves into." Derek said as he riffled through Kurt's Rune Dictionary the first day of classes. "I'm all for dictionaries but this…"<p>

"Wait, I thought you would've read at least some of it before school started." Rachel said looking over his shoulder as they walked along the corridor. The six of them were going to their respective classes. Rachel, Brittany, and Derek were going to Potions, Sofie was going to Muggle Studies, and Kurt and Reed were going to their Ancient Runes class.

"There was a spike in Wizarding Literature." Derek said, offering Kurt's book back.

He took his book from Derek's hands and quickly stuffed it in his bag. "At least you don't have it today; you have more than enough time to review it overnight. I, on the other hand, fell asleep on it, unfortunately." Kurt was embarrassed by this but he had to admit, that train ride and the succeeding chase of his roommates left him tired. Then added by the feast they had, it was a surprise that he dragged himself upstairs. That didn't help him feel better about sleeping through the studying.

"Don't worry, mate!" Sofie said cheerily. "It's still the first day."

"Professor Amato gives quizzes on the first day." Kurt's eyebrow shot up, Reed looked at his friend with surprise. "Gwen told me."

"Why didn't you tell _me_?" Reed exclaimed hysterically.

Sofie's smile wasn't deterred and she patted him on the back and patted Reed's hair. "Well, good luck, mates!"

"Thanks." Kurt said dryly.

"Here's my turn." She said, gesturing to the corridor on her left. "Alice is already there waiting for me. I'll see you all later for tea! And I'll see _you_," she said to Reed and Kurt, "in Charms." She waved and turned to her corridor. On the opposite side, the Hufflepuffs and Slytherin left for the dungeons for their first Potions lesson. "Don't forget! First official choir day today!" Rachel called excitedly as they walked away. Brittany and Derek sent their luck to their friends though it wouldn't help them when they knew next to nothing about runes. Reed and Kurt walked closely together.

"Maybe it'll be easy," Reed said, "maybe he'll just ask us to write our names in runes. Junie taught me how to write my name in runes. And the alphabet."

"Your house elf _taught_ you?" Kurt asked in disbelief. "I shouldn't be surprised but I am."

"Of course." Reed shrugged. "She knows how to speak and write it. We're probably one of the few wizarding families that have a literate house elf."

"Few? Try _only_." His friend retorted.

"You never know." They turned another corridor to where their room was residing, they could already see some Gryffindors and Ravenclaws entering the room. "There are a lot of wizards in the world after all and some aren't like most."

"True." The taller boy agreed.

"Kurt! Reed! Hold on!" The two boys turned around to see Shane rushing down the corridor; hair still wet and robe in the process of being put on. Reed watched in horror when he realized that Shane's shoelace remained untied and shuddered at the thought of what would happen to him if his shoelaces were untied. "Why," Shane sucked in a deep breath, "didn't you wake me up?" He turned his head to Kurt.

"I _did_ try to." Kurt replied. "You threw a pillow at me. And our other roommates couldn't care less if you woke up on time or not. The twins found it amusing, Julian tried first then you swatted his face away, and we're back to you threw a pillow at me. You have no one to blame but yourself."

Shane groaned. "When will you learn, Kurt?"

"Why me?" The brunet protested, ended up being ignored by the curly headed boy.

"The only way to wake me up is physically throwing me off the bed. Don't hesitate, I'm quite sturdy." His roommate laughed and patted his back harshly. "Now let's go and get some runes!" He turned to Reed with a huge goofy grin and patted the smaller boy too, making him stumble. "Hiya, Reed."

"Hey." Reed massaged his shoulder that was surely going to bruise later.

They took seats in the middle of the room. Everyone was talking about the class and summer, though some students, including Kurt and Reed, were busy going through their rune dictionaries for things that might crop up on the quiz their professor was sure to give. Shane was throwing paper airplanes around with some of the students, one of which nearly poked Reed's eye out. Kurt was glaring at the dictionary, hoping to drown on the noise which was getting on his last nerve. But the moment the bells rang, Professor Amato came into the classroom and everyone immediately hushed and sat down on their seats.

"Good morning, class." He said. "I'm Vandekker Amato. I will be your Ancient Runes professor for the next four years assuming you pass your O.W.L's." Professor Amato was a slightly plump man that had wispy, white-grey hair that covered his head. He didn't seem too old but crinkles were clear on his face. He took a moment to smile at his students. The smile wasn't warm like Professor Sprout or Weadell's, it almost seemed mischievous. Some of the students were thoughtless enough to think he was a nice teacher but the others knew not to be fooled by that. "I assume you skimmed through your dictionaries over the summer." He said, pacing the floor. The smile suddenly turned unnerving. "Take out some parchment we're going to have a quick quiz." The class gave a short groan and leaned down to get their materials out. "Oh, don't worry, it won't be so bad. Go on; write your names on top of the parchment." They started to relax but the runes professor spoke again after they wrote their names. "I just want you to write your full name in runes." The relaxation receded.

"I knew it." Reed whispered and Kurt turned to him. He gave his friend a small smile.

"I hate you so much right now." The Gryffindor whispered.

The smaller boy laughed as he took out his quill. "It's just one quiz, Kurt. It's not that big a deal."

"Easy for you to say."

From the back of the room, Josh raised his hand and Professor Amato acknowledged him. "Sir, are we allowed to use our dictionaries?"

"No." He answered with an ironic chuckle as he flipped an hourglass on his desk. "You may begin. I'll give you three minutes."

Josh sat back down and Todd nudged him. "Why'd you have to ask that?"

"How was I supposed to know –"

"Shh, no talking."

"Sorry, professor." The two Ravenclaws said and looked back down to their empty pieces of parchment. They, and more than half of the classroom, already resented their new teacher for what he asked them to do. Kurt found it particularly challenging to simply spell his name in runes. He glanced enviously at Reed, who finished writing down his name after thirty seconds and was now staring blankly outside one of the windows that flanked the blackboard behind their professor.

The Gryffindor looked back frustratingly at his blank piece of parchment and found it unfair that Reed already knew the answer because of a stupid house elf. He then supposed that grumbling about it would do him no good and began scratching his mind for _anything_ at all. "Two minutes." Professor Amato announced and somebody groaned from the back. Kurt started to panic a little bit and chastised himself to calm down. He dipped his quill into his ink and started writing the first letter of his name in runes. He could only clearly remember the _K_ in runes; the rest was just an unsure jumble. To his left, Shane dropped his head on the desk in surrender.

Kurt supposed it wouldn't be so bad. Reed's right, it was just one quiz, nothing bad would happen. Just as he was about to resign himself, content with his _K_ he noticed Reed making imaginary shapes with his finger, still staring blankly at the window beyond the professor, who was, for some reason, staring at the hourglass on his desk. It was then Kurt realized that Reed was helping him cheat, he was spelling out the _U_ in runes! He couldn't believe that his friend could do such a thing.

However, temptation got the better of Kurt and he told himself that a good first impression would be a nice start to the year. With that comforting thought in mind, he took Reed's bait.

He faintly saw Reed smile as he moved along to the letter _R_. For a moment, Kurt thought Reed was lying to him but soon decided that that would be preposterous and continued writing. Professor Amato did not look up from the hourglass even when he announced, "One minute left!" Reed and Kurt were relieved that he didn't. And at the thirty second mark, Kurt Hummel was spelled out in runes.

"Quills up!" Their professor said in a light, but commanding, tone. Everyone complied and with a flick of the wand, their papers flew to his desk. "Now, let us begin with the runic alphabet, shall we?"

As chalk flew on the board, making the full alphabet and Professor Amato began with a brief history of the origin of runes, Kurt turned to Reed. "Thank you."

"Any time." Reed chuckled. "You owe me, by the way. I have a feeling Potions is going to be hard this year."

"Deal."

Professor Amato wasn't all that bad; he just had too high expectations for his students. He meant well for most of the time when he gave quizzes and assignments every day. He thought that since the children chose his elective class that they would be eager to learn. He did when he was a student. Unfortunately, it's been quite a while since he's been a student and the generation's mind set changed. He chose not to notice it. When the class ended, everyone left the room hurriedly, afraid that he would spring another piece of homework for them. Unbeknownst to him, when his students left the room, they started dreading the next meeting like they dreaded Professor Button's Transfiguration classes and Professor Sylvester's Defence classes. However, there were always those select few that enjoyed the class, two of which were Todd Hendricks and Reed Van Kamp, but they wouldn't admit that right away.

"I sorta enjoyed it." Well, maybe not Todd. Kurt glared at his Ravenclaw friend and the boy immediately shrank into himself a bit. They were the last to come out of the classroom since Reed had a few questions about the assignment. It was students like that that made Professor Amato continue to think that students enjoyed Ancient Runes. "What? You said 'honestly'."

"I suppose you enjoy the fact that he had us write down three hobbies we like for our assignment too?" Kurt's eyebrow rose up his forehead and Reed huffed.

"No need to get cross." The artist said. His arms folded against his chest. "And as a matter of fact, I do."

The taller boy sighed. "Right, sorry." He placed two fingers on his temple and rubbed it. "God, I need some tea."

"As do I." Reed replied. "But we still have a Charms class to get to and I assume that Sofie will be waiting for us. We're already running late" Kurt groaned as they turned to another corridor. "Look at the bright side; it's just Charms and not Transfiguration." With that, the Gryffindor couldn't help but feel the slightest bit relieved. With renewed optimism for the day, the two friends walked to their Charms room. Sofie was waiting at the door for them, talking to her roommates, Alice and Regine. The two girls were blond, contrasting greatly to Sofia's pitch black hair. They _almost_ looked alike. Alice was the taller one with darker blond hair and eyes that were unnervingly the same colour of her hair. Regine's eyes were dark grey and her hair was almost white. The three girls grinned brightly at the boys.

"Took you long enough." Sofie's grin turned into a small smirk, making Kurt roll his eyes. "How was Ancient Runes?"

"_You're_ taking Ancient Runes?" Regine's eyes grew wide. "Good luck to ya, mates. My older sister took that class and it drove her barmy."

"Let's hope that doesn't happen." Reed chuckled nervously and started entering the room, Kurt followed after him.

The taller boy stopped in front of Sofie and said, "If you must know, it was dreadful. We had to spell our names in runes for the first quiz!"

"See this is why I didn't take this class." The Ravenclaw girl followed after her friends and started leading them to the seats she saved for them. "I mean, my older brother, Midas, might be good at that class but I saw his notes and I realized, point blank, that would _not_ want that class." She pushed a few bags to the side and presented them to Kurt and Reed. "Next time, try not to be late. I'm not your maid."

Kurt choffed. "Right, yeah. O, Sofie! What shall we do without you?"

"You're spending too much time with Berry." She laughed. "Also, you'd all suffer without me."

* * *

><p>Brittany S. Pierce rarely ever got nervous because most of the time she's a chipper girl with optimism radiating out of her like the air she breathed. She hardly ever took notice of anything around her except for the magic and beauty of Hogwarts so that helped too. However, it was the few moments before the audition and she was scared of being judged by people she hardly knew. She's been on stage for a few times but that was for dancing and she wasn't dumb enough to confuse dancing and singing. Kurt and Rachel went ahead for a choir meeting before they let in new possible recruits. Right beside her were a few friends, Erin and Ella, her roommates, Derek, Reed, and Sofie as well. "I'm really nervous. I'm singing a Britney Spears song and I don't think I can do her any justice."<p>

"Who's Britney Spears again?" Sofie whispered to Ella who just shrugged. She turned to Brittany again with a wide smile. "You can do this Brit! They'll adore you. Trust me."

"I just wish Lord Tubbington was here." She said. "His warm, furry body could give me comfort. Unfortunately he told me that he would be busy today. I think he's having a cat meeting with all of our cats." Derek nodded empathically. "And maybe even Erik." She turned to Reed. "I feel like, even after he tried to eat your owl, they became really good friends!"

"That's… wonderful, Brittany." Reed laughed.

She smiled brightly and nudged Derek. "I think Alec put in a good word."

"I'm sure he did." Derek nodded. "Oh, that Alec. Always looking out for his mates."

The doors suddenly opened and Professor Schuester was smiling broadly as he walked out. He clasped his hands together and said, "Alright, everyone ready?" Brittany whimpered and Erin gave her a slightly forceful pat on the back, trying to comfort her. She looked up at the professor with slightly frightened eyes, she suddenly felt like she wasn't ready. "Come on in." He said, gesturing them to walk behind him. Students from different years began to enter. She turned around to face her friends again.

"Go!" Erin laughed. "Sing for them like you sing in the shower!"

"I'm sure Britney Spurs would be proud of you!" Sofie waved her away with a smile. She kept that smile when she realized that she said the name wrong. Nobody corrected her because they were all too busy urging Brittany towards the music room. The blonde nodded with a smile and steadied herself before she entered with the excited smile she usually had. It was an opportunity, a _good_ one and she's going to seize it. "I said Spurs, didn't I?" She heard Sofie said before the doors closed behind her.

The room was like any other classroom in Hogwarts, a few windows on the wall, chairs at the back, and a blackboard on one of the walls. The differences were the small stage where the chairs and the choir members resided. There were also musical instruments lying near the blackboard. In the room, there were thirteen students, at the back Kurt and Rachel waved at her, giving their own version of support. A seventh year Hufflepuff, Elora Barne, waved at Brittany, surprised to see her there. The younger Hufflepuff grinned wider, telling herself that it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

Professor Schue walked to the centre of the room where a Gryffindor stood straight, beaming at the newcomers. "Welcome." The professor said happily. "I'm so glad you came for the auditions today. We can't wait to hear you all sing and don't worry we won't be bearing down on you once you step up. So relax." A few students, including Brittany and Mercedes, who stayed at the back, calmed down from where they were standing. "Before we start, let me introduce the Nightingale's new captain, Lorien Drake."

"Hi there." Lorien's grin grew wider and his blue eyes twinkled at the prospect of new voices. Some girls who were auditioning subtly swooned for the tall brunet beside the professor. Brittany blushed a little bit when the captain's smouldering gaze landed on her for a bit. "Don't get nervous now, chances are you'll do great. And once you're in the team, don't hesitate to talk to me; I'm a pretty kind bloke."

Someone snorted at the back and everyone turned to the sound. Santana was covering her mouth. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to." She waved them off. Her friend, Kristianne (who she dutifully nicknamed X that year when she found her name a mouthful to say), smacked her arm but she was trying to stop her own giggles. "He's laying it down a wee bit much, don't you think, X?"

"Definitely." The pale brunette with the angular bob agreed in a whisper. "But I don't want to get in trouble now, so shut up, Lopez." During their brief conversation, Professor Schue had already sat down in his seat and so did Lorien. The auditioning students took some seats on the side while some took seats beside their friends. Brittany and Mercedes sat by Kurt and Rachel.

"Mercedes!" Rachel said with bright surprise. "I didn't know you were auditioning."

"…I told you this morning." Her roommate said with a little unease, an eyebrow quirked up. Kurt's eyebrow went up as well and Brittany was trying to retie her Hufflepuff tie with a lot of difficulty. She swore she got it this time.

"Y-You did?" The small Slytherin stammered, embarrassed by that slip up. She began to open her mouth to defend herself but Professor Schue told everyone to keep quiet when the first audition walked up to the centre. The conversations immediately dropped and she was relieved that she was saved from a more awkward situation.

"Please introduce yourself." He said with a smile.

"Hello," a tall, skinny, Ravenclaw girl said shakily, her fingers fidgeting with her robe, "I-I'm Deborah Ann Linnet, fifth year."

For her part, Rachel watched and listened to every girl who auditioned. She judged them silently, smiling every time she _knew_ that she was infinitely better than that girl (which was most of the time). Though she must admit that there were some good ones, those voices wouldn't be able to match up to hers. As the hour trickled by, her smile and her pride didn't deter. Those solos were as good as hers. Then Mercedes started to sing and Rachel's unchallenged smile faltered a little bit, but only a little. Her eyes narrowed and her hearing honed into the dark-skinned girl's voice. She would prove as a threat to what Rachel wanted, which were solos, loads and loads of solos, and she resolved to practice in the bathroom some more. Maybe even to break Mercedes's spirit but she figured that would go a little too far and she didn't really think that her roommate would be that weak, especially with a voice like that. She reminded herself that she was going to be the star of this group and nothing's going to stop her. The room clapped after Mercedes's solo, louder than everyone else, making Rachel clap as well, just in time for her roommate to see her. They shared a smile but there was an unspoken agreement of competition between them.

Finally, it was Brittany's turn. "Hi," she said gleefully, hoping to bury her nervousness with her eagerness. "I'm Brittany S. Pierce." She was the last girl to audition and everyone else did a really good job. She squared her shoulders and flashed a wider smile at everyone in the room. Lorien found the smile contagious.

"Aren't you that girl who danced with us on stage last year? With Shane?" He asked, making the blonde giggle and blush. The other girls seethed with a little envy.

"Um, yeah, I was." She replied cheerfully, suddenly aware of her hair and clothes, she was about to fidget with her fringe when Lorien started to speak again.

"Hmm." He nodded a little. "So what are you singing for us, Ms. Pierce?"

"I'll be singing _Toxic_ by the legendary Britney Spears." She swayed a little bit. "I hope to do her justice because it's a really marvy song."

"I'm sure Britney will be proud of you." Professor Schue said with a slightly smile and flicked his wand towards the instruments. They started floating. "Are you ready, Brittany?"

"Yes."

Rachel grinned to herself when her friend started to sing. _That's one less friend on the possible chopping board_. She thought. Brittany, in Rachel's professional opinion, wasn't the worst singer in the world but she wasn't the best either. Her alto would be perfect in the background as she sang a solo that would bring the audience to tears of wonder. Suddenly, Rachel was overcome with imaginary applause and she closed her eyes to it, blocking Brittany singing, "_the taste of your poison paradise,_" and revelled at the thought of her upcoming stardom. She was in the running for choir captain in a few years' time and she will lead the Nightingales into multiple victories.

She could see it now.

"Thank you, Brittany. It's nice that you even danced at the end." Lorien said, snapping Rachel from her thoughts of grandeur.

"You're welcome." The blonde said a little breathlessly before walking back to her seat. "How'd I do?" She asked in a whisper as the next person came to audition took the spot she once stood in. She sat down and Kurt patted her shoulder.

"You did very well, Brit." He said, making her smile with pride.

"Do you really think so?"

"I know so."

"Thanks, Kurt." She reached over to cover his hand with hers to give it a friendly squeeze. It was an intimate moment of friendship that was quickly finished by someone jumping into the conversation.

"Me too! You were really lovely, Brit. You'll be a great addition to the Nightingales." Rachel said even though she hardly paid attention to the performance itself. Kurt staggered backward on his chair at the sudden Rachel outburst while Brittany just giggled and thanked Rachel as well, not noticing how she butt into the moment – she figured it was just something Rachel-esque. Kurt, on the other hand, was a little bit irritated. However, he just pushed the feeling away over the friendship they shared over the years. Friends irritated each other from one time to another, it was perfectly normal. At least, that's what he told himself.

* * *

><p>The next day, seven new recruits, that included Brittany and Mercedes of course, were added to the Nightingales, making them twenty-one in number. It wasn't as big as last year's (twenty-six) but it was all they could get that year and every single one of the new members were as talented as they can get. Practice started immediately that day – two months before they leave for Beauxbatons, and one month of final preparations for the competition at the end of November at the school itself. Naturally, they started off normal enough – chorus numbers so they could practice group dynamics, something some students find tedious and boring and a waste of their talent. But once the second week blew around, they started getting solos. Solos that may not be on the set list for the competition itself but they just put it in their repertoire just in case. Plus, a week before the actual departure from school, they would've been able to pick out a decent set list.<p>

It's very rare for a new recruit, let alone a third year, to get a multitude of solos. Then there was Rachel Berry. She captivated the choir with her voice – her extremely breath-taking voice that did not belong to that tiny a girl's body. It seemed like every song choice their choir director chose seemed to fit her better than other's if not perfectly. For the first two weeks, everyone seemed fine with it but at the third week, resentment started to settle in – especially with Kurt, Mercedes, and Santana. Not only was Rachel stealing their solos (though they theorized that Professor Schuester was showing a bit of favouritism), she was also bossy and annoying when it came to rehearsals. Santana showed no problem expressing her immediate dislike for the tiny brunette ("I never liked her anyway"). Mercedes and Kurt on the other hand _tried_ to understand her seeing as she was a friend of theirs but that proved to be an arduous part to play. Nevertheless they all took it because, cumbersome as it may to admit, Rachel could be the reason for their win against the other wizarding schools that year. And, annoyingly enough, she seemed to know that already.

"I don't know how you do it." Mercedes whispered to Kurt as they practiced another number for however much time that day. Rachel was in front again with her exasperating smile. It might've been a group number but she got most of the parts anyway. "She's getting on my last nerve and it's taking _all_ of me not to hex her."

Kurt sighed as they did another push turn, step toe, step toe, snap. "Me too, but I think I'm just hanging on for the others. A fight wouldn't be the best thing for the six of us." It was true; he didn't want anything causing a massive shake in the friendship they've maintained after two years with six different personalities. But even the thought of that didn't make it easier for him to not grind his teeth whenever Rachel got a solo he wanted or whenever Rachel started chastising the choir for not working hard enough or whenever Rachel made a "suggestion". Sure, he was jealous but if he was in her place he wouldn't be a control freak (okay, maybe just a little bit). Mercedes was the only person he could talk about it since Brittany was obviously out of the question and Rachzilla doesn't seem to appear a lot when they're with the others. Sofie, Derek, and Reed _did_, however, notice some subtle hints of how bad Rachel really is in the choir room.

"Wouldn't you want to talk to her about it?" Mercedes asked after a formation change with Rachel at the centre where she'll be doing an astounding high note that she was sure she could handle too.

Kurt snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that. With the way she's going now, she'll probably defend herself fervently. I'd rather her find out for herself. It'll be good for her."

"When do you think that'll be?"

"I'm afraid to say never, but karma's a bitch if you're one." The two giggled, mostly because Kurt said "bitch" and their newly teenage minds couldn't handle the elating feeling of swearing and not having their parents glaring at them, reprimand at the ready. This, of course, got a disapproving look from Professor Schue.

"Kurt, Mercedes, no talking."

"Sorry, professor." They said and went back to their dancing. In Kurt's peripheral he could see Rachel shaking her head, disapproving her two friends' lack of focus that caused his blood to boil. He did, with weeks of practice, manage to suck it back down. He would remind himself that by doing so, he was protecting a beautiful friendship that he intended to keep until they were old and greying. What was really happening, though, was it was going to fester in him until one day all that frustration and resentment was going to explode and it wasn't going to be pretty.

* * *

><p>Later that day, the six of them, joined by a handful of other students including Kurt's roommates, were at the Quidditch pitch, watching Seeker tryouts. Julian Larson-Armstrong was in the pitch, trying out. His best friends, Logan and the other Derek were in the stands as well, sitting nearby Kurt's tiny group. They all gave him appreciative cheers that made him grin back at them and gave them a small wave before turning attention back to the Gryffindor captain, Alisha Cook. Flanking her were the Beaters, Shawn Merrick and Voltaire Lankford, who were smirking at the students trying out. Their expressions were a bit disconcerting, like they were planning something that would cause harm and they would enjoy it. Julian surveyed them with an appraising look. He's seen that expression before – the twins.<p>

"Alright, listen up." Alisha announced looking at the five who were hoping to get into the team. "This tryout is going to be quick and simple." She took a little golden ball from her pocket and suddenly wings sprouted out from it then it started t flutter in her hand. "First one to catch the Snitch gets to be Seeker." Eyebrows rose at the simple task. "I know, that may seem easy so I decided to throw in the Bludgers too." One boy, a fifth year, paled and gulped audible, causing two of the Gryffindors beside him to look. Alisha smiled, almost mimicking the Beaters' expression. "Don't worry; if it gets out of hand the Hospital Wing is nearby kind of. Vol and Shawn won't let anything exceptionally bad happen to you." That didn't sound as comforting as she hoped but then again it didn't really matter. "Also, if you get knocked off or knocked out by one, you're out of the tryouts." If they couldn't handle a Bludger then they shouldn't have tried out. "Are we clear?" They nodded. "Super." She let go of the Snitch and it flew away, disappearing in the afternoon. The Beaters flew down to release the Bludgers. Alisha hovered above them. "Ready? Release the Bludgers!" The two black balls skyrocketed from the chest. "Go on! Search for the Snitch!"

They scrambled and flew around the pitch, eyes narrowing, looking for the smallest glint of gold. Vol and Shawn flew near their team captain. "Make them suffer." She said.

"Aye, aye, captain." Vol said with a mock salute before they flew off to the nearest Bludger, aiming it at the nearest Seeker-to-be, who turned out to be Julian. He rolled to the side, evading the ball at the last second.

"What the hell!" He yelled.

"Captain's orders, mate." Shawn grinned. "You have to learn how to dodge these little fuckers if you want to be on the team. The other houses won't be a lenient as we are."

"Plus, we won't always be there; we've got other teammates to defend." Vol shrugged. Julian glared at them for a bit before going back to searching for the Snitch. It wasn't the most exciting tryout unlike Beater, Chaser, or Keeper tryouts but since seeking is what Seekers do, there's really nothing else to do to them except have them find the Snitch.

"Go, Jules! Woohoo!" Logan called with enthusiasm as his friend flew by. Julian threw a smile over his shoulder before flying away. He sat back down in a huff. "God, can they just find the Snitch already? My butt is freezing off out here."

"You're the one who wanted to go 'support' Julian." Derek grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey, he was there when _we_ tried out." Logan defended. "It's the least we could do. You know, before we shove Gryffindor down to the ground in this year's Quidditch games." The two boys shared a small smile and went back to watching prospective Seekers fly around aimlessly in the sky.

From right across Derek and Logan, Kurt's tiny group crowded. They watched excitedly at first but then they started moving onto different things. The twins were playing exploding snap with Shane, Rachel was talking to Kurt and Brittany about how "super excited" she was for the competition and how "I'm sure that I'll get a solo for that competition that is sure to bring the crowd to tears", making Kurt force himself not to glare and Brittany to just smile and nod before she looked back at the broomsticks, wondering how they managed to fly and if she could make herself fly too.

Sofie turned her head to the blond and brunet across them and sighed wistfully. "So beautiful." She whispered and turned to Reed and Derek, the former was drawing a very detailed sketch of the pitch from his point of view. "Don't you think they're just so beautiful, sitting there, breaking everyone's _hearts_?"

Derek turned his head towards the two boys and nodded. "I guess they are pretty fit." Then Sofie smacked a hand to his face and turned it towards the flying students. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Stop ogling at them, be more subtle or they'll notice." Sofie hissed. When she turned her head to the pitch, a Bludger hit a Gryffindor off his broom. "Ouch!" She exclaimed. She couldn't imagine how much that would hurt. She stood up with the others when the boy fell in the air. "Someone catch him!" She shouted, feeling antsy in the stands. Alisha swooped in at the last second, earning a collective sigh from the spectators. As they were all sitting down, Sofie said, "Wow that was exciting… I hope someone falls again!" Her friends turned to face her with incredulous looks on their faces. "What?" She asked. "Oh, please, it's not like this is the most exciting tryout ever." She rolled her eyes and watched again, willing the Beaters to knock someone off the broom again.

Once watching Seekers fly aimlessly for a minute or so got boring again (she already took a picture of it and you can only take so much in a day), her attention turned to Reed and Derek, she looked at the sketch he was drawing. "That's really good." Derek commented, doing the same thing as she did.

"Thanks." Reed mumbled as if in a trance while he drew a Snitch in the middle of the well-drawn pitch. "It's really nothing much. What I _should_ be doing is a few clothes designs for my mum to look at. Says it's for practice." He looked up at his two friends with a hint of desperation in his eyes. "Oh bloody – I really should get on that, shouldn't I?"

"I don't get why you're so worried." Sofie affirmed. "You're a bloody good artist."

"But what if Mum doesn't like what I sent her." He replied with a smidge more distress. "I mean, I can't disappoint her that would be horrible!"

"She's going to love what you're gonna do." His friend said in a very comforting but firm voice. "And if she doesn't, who cares? You're _thirteen_ for God's sakes!" She rolled her eyes. "She can't expect a miracle from you."

"I suppose you're right." Reed nodded. When he finished his Snitch drawing, he folded the paper in half and pulled out his wand. After muttering a quick spell and tapping the paper, he unfolded it. The drawings were moving now, the Seekers seeking, the Snitch fleeing their attempts to catch it, and the clouds were moving lazily above the drawing.

"See, I don't know why your mum doesn't get extremely proud." Derek reflected aloud as he stared at the drawing. "You're one of the brightest wizards of our age."

"I don't know about that." Reed said, feeling a little bit flustered as he watched his drawing move. "There's Rachel and I'm just a third year and –"

"You've got half of Ravenclaw jealous of your excellent scores." Sofie said, determined to make Reed feel better about himself. "C'mon Reed, you can't be that _daft_ to think that you're not –" A sudden uproar in cheers made all of them look up from whatever it was they're doing and quickly looked around for the reason.

"What is it?" Shane asked, jumping on his seat.

"There!" The twins pointed and everyone's heads turned to the left to see two people, a boy and a girl, diving down the stands, swerving from time to time – the Snitch was nearby. "That's Julian!" Ethan announced with excitement in his voice.

"Who's the girl?" Sofie asked, craning her neck the same time a Bludger narrowly missed the two and ended up hitting another boy off his broom. "Wicked!"

"Eva Roose, fifth year." Kurt replied as he watched as the two battled it out in the air. They changed direction dramatically, Julian turned after than Eva did though she caught up five seconds later. They were hurtling towards their little group making Reed squeak and sat back down, covering his head, afraid that he would get kicked in the face.

"Go Jules!" Derek (Siegerson) voiced out with a hearty cheer as the two Gryffindors spiralled up a tall spire. They all turned to look at them as the raced higher into the air. The Snitch must've enjoyed doing its job.

"C'mon Julian!" Shane shouted with his hands cupped around his mouth but the encouraging sound barely reached his friend because the wind whistled against Julian's ears as he pushed his broom faster. He reached for the Snitch the same time Eva did.

"No hard feelings, Larson." She said with a smirk as she inched forward, closer to the Snitch.

"Right back at you, Roose." He said to the curly haired blonde with the same mock niceness. He glared at the Snitch and there was a quick moment that the Snitch turned to the left side. If there was a lapse of attention on his part, he wouldn't have seen the subtle movement that would've cost him the post. But he saw it and he turned left the same time the Snitch did. Eva throttled forward, missing the Snitch by a longshot. Julian smiled when he intercepted the Snitch mid-turn and closed his hands tightly on the golden ball. He stopped his broom and held up the Snitch triumphantly.

"He's so bloody gorgeous." Sofie sighed as she clapped. "So. Bloody. Gorgeous. I would like to congratulate his parents for making him." Her friends laughed. She just started at him like an idiot for a few seconds before she caught herself. She must be cool and subtle and _oh dear Granger what if he lands near Derek and Logan, hotness overload! _The thought of the three of them together was so appealing that she might actually drool if she had less composure than she already does.

"Congratulation, Julian." Alisha said as he flew towards him. "Welcome to the Quidditch team."

"You won't regret it." He said and winked at his new captain, making her blush a little bit and that just seemed to agitate her.

"I better not." She snarled and shook his hand. "Come on, you lot. Let's get back to Gryffindor to get changed. I'm starving and I can't wait for supper." Julian smiled and turned to fly towards his friends on the stands. He landed in between his best friends and his roommates (and by extension, Kurt's friends). Derek and Logan clapped him on the back immediately, hugging obviously wasn't their thing.

"Good job, mate!" Derek said with a huge grin. "Now I better go, I'm meeting a really fit Ravenclaw in five minutes." He turned around and ran for the stairs.

"God, I leave for Italy for the summer and I come back to a cocky arsehole like him." Julian rolled his eyes and glared accusingly at Logan. "You let this happen."

"Woah, when is Derek's manwhore tendencies _my_ fault?"

Before Julian could come up with a witty retort, the twins smothered him in a hug. "Congrats, Jules!"

"We _knew_ you'd beat Eva."

"Never doubted you for a second!"

"Shane did!"

"And now he's two galleons poorer!"

"In my defence," Shane began, "I rooted for you at first. Congratulations for making the team."

"Thanks, traitor." Julian teased with a punch on Shane's shoulder. They all turned to walk down the stands, Logan, Derek, and Julian taking the lead as they continued talking about Quidditch and the coming games the same time the two Ravenclaws were telling their friend that they were going to beat his house. He just laughed. Everyone went ahead as Derek tied his shoelaces that seemed to have come undone while he sat.

"Derek." The twins regarded him in an official sounding tone. It was very laughable since the two were the least official people in the entire school. He looked up at them and stood up straight, still looking up; he couldn't help but think about how _tall_ the two were. "We were wondering if you could lend us a muggle book for our Muggle Studies class."

"Kurt told us that you were the person to go to for these kinds of things. Something about your taste in books was as good as his taste in clothes." Ethan added, making Derek chortle in response, they grinned at the reaction.

"Would you please lend us one?" Evan said. "We'll beg if we have to." They wouldn't really but seeing the brunet just blush a little bit gave them a bit of satisfaction.

Derek chuckled a little bit, enjoying this moment. "Just one book?"

"We do _everything_ together." Evan nodded, so did Ethan at the same time. "It won't matter."

"We'll take care of your books."

"Kurt told us you were very particular about that."

"And that you'll skin us alive if anything happens to your books."

Derek smiled slightly, still a little bit amused that Kurt really said that (then again, the twins would've been faking it). He nodded once and said, "Fine. I'll lend you a book." They pulled him into a great big hug, squeezing the breath out of him. It wasn't an easy feat with a Hufflepuff his size – he's the one usually giving the bone-crushing hugs – but having two people, who looked stronger than they did, hug him made it work. "Let go of me." He said with a bit of effort and they complied with huge Cheshire grins on their faces. Derek's eyebrows rose. _Huh… Cheshire. _"I know just the book for you." He walked to the stairs and gestured them over. "Walk with me to Hufflepuff. No attacking. No listening in for the password. I _will_ hex you if you do."

"We promise." They said together, completely oblivious that Hufflepuff didn't _need_ a password at all even if their sister was prefect of the house. "It's a good thing Ravenclaw doesn't need a password." One of them started to say (Evan) as they walked with the shorter boy. It was hard for Derek to discern who's who. They were identical in almost everything. "We couldn't have gotten away with that plastic ball prank if it did."

"That was you?" Derek asked incredulously. "Reed almost impaled himself!"

"Yeah, sorry about that…" Evan said while Ethan snickered to the side quietly.

* * *

><p>Friday came that week and once again they're faced with thoughts of tomorrow's outfit and Care of Magical Creatures. Derek bundled up the scarf around his neck, it was a cold morning on the grounds of Hogwarts and even though he did enjoy that kind of weather most of the time, he couldn't because he was on the verge of a cold. He couldn't smell the beautiful smell of almost rain in air and his breakfast – it was a <em>horrible <em>day. He crossed his arms on his chest, hoping to stop his tremors, and turned to the left to sneeze violently. Brittany patted his back as he regained his bearings. It was only the four of them there, Rachel and Kurt had a different class. It was strange at first but after a while they started getting used to the fact that they didn't have _all_ classes together. "You should really go to the Hospital Wing, mate." Sofie said. "You look like you're dying."

"I feel like it." Derek almost mumbled as they trudged down the hill to Hagrid's hut. "And I will, as soon as we finish this lesson."

Sofie groaned with exasperation. "What?" Reed asked. "You're not still hung up about the unicorn thing, are you?"

"Of _course_ I am!" She replied. "Why wouldn't I be? I thought we're going to have unicorns _now_ and _not_ next bloody year!" Derek began to open his mouth to protest Sofie's mini-tirade but she raised her hand to stop him. "And no, I will not get over it… yet." Her friend shrugged and sneezed again to the left, losing his grip on Reed's cloak the same time the strawberry blond tripped down the steps.

"Ah, bloody _hell_." Reed said, rubbing his arm. "Looks like Derek's not the only one going to the Hospital Wing today."

Brittany walked pass Sofie to reach down for Reed, Derek was too busy sneezing his brains out to the side. "You _really_ need to get to that wing." Sofie shook her head.

"It's just one class." He said in a muffled, snotted-up voice that made his sentence hard to understand. "What's the worst that could happen?" Reed and Sofie could think of a few things but they decided not to tempt fate further.

"Tell me again," Sofie spoke up when they reached the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, "_why_ are we early?"

"Brittany got excited." Derek supplied.

Sofie turned to the blonde, expecting an answer to an unsaid question. Brittany stared back with a hint of confusion in her eyes. "Why?" The smaller girl asked, finally, jolting her friend back to a standing position leaving her tallest among the four of them. "Why are you excited, Brittany?"

"Professor Hagrid said that today's lesson's gonna be a thumpin' fun one so I wanted to be early." Brittany answered. "What does thumpin' mean? And has Professor Hagrid always been that tall? Do you think he's part Giant?"

"No idea. Yes. Yes." Sofie answered and whirled around to keep on walking. "Pft, _Professor_ Hagrid. He's not a very good teacher, don't you think? I mean sure he's nice and all but I'd much rather read a book."

"Sofie!" Brittany smacked her arm. "People might hear."

"I'm just telling the truth. Aren't people supposed to tell the truth, Brit?" She retorted. She didn't know why she was being a bit of a bitch right now but she had to remind herself that she's just being honest, that _must_ count for something. Brittany didn't even look hurt anyway. She just stopped in her tracks to think about it for a few seconds before walking again.

"I guess…" She bobbed towards them.

"Exactly." Sofie nodded with a small smile. "Anyway, back to what I was saying. Professor Hagrid isn't the best teacher in the world, but he's one of the nicest, even if he's kind of insane with the animals. That Kneazle almost bit off Reed's arm and he insisted that 'he's only doin' tha' 'cause he likes ya'." Sofie even added a wide smile at the end, Brittany snorted. "I swear if the Derek didn't use that Knockback Jinx, Madam Pomfrey might've needed to stich the arm back _on_ Reed."

"That _was_ a bit traumatizing." Reed said, unconsciously rubbing his right arm at the memory. "It's a good thing I have an owl or I would never look at my pet the same way ever again."

A number of older students were walking against them, class just ended. It was a class of fourth year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. The four huddled together in their group like they could be lost in the sea of older students. Unfortunately, being in such close proximity would cause their downfall when a Ravenclaw stuck out his foot in front of Derek's walk. The Hufflepuff would've easily spotted the foot if he wasn't sick. But he was sick and he ended up toppling to the ground, dragging Reed with him. A few fourth years roared in laughter. "Watch where you're going fat ass or the klutz is gonna need stitches." Another peal of laughter erupted from the group.

"It's a good thing the Puff didn't fall on him," someone commented, already walking away, "or Reed would've burst!" The two boys flushed in embarrassment as they tried to get onto their feet again which caused them further humiliation when Derek couldn't get himself upright.

"Shove off!" Sofie sneered at the older students and they mocked her before turning away from the third years. "Bunch of twats." She muttered and even Brittany didn't chastise her. They _did_ seem like a bunch of twats. The blonde helped Reed pull their fallen friend off the ground and his head hung long.

"You okay?" Brittany asked quietly, worried that the mean people hurt her friend's feelings. Derek sniffled and swiped some snot from his nose as he nodded. She smiled and rubbed his shoulder affectionately. He rubbed his huge belly for a bit, feeling kind of bad about it but he pushed his thought away and continued walking. There was a moment of silence, just a fleeting moment, where they all thought about bullying. All of the incidents in their group happened mostly with Derek, whose fat was the main topic. Rachel came to a close second where people would tell her to shut up whenever she began to open her mouth in their presence. Brittany's eyebrows scrunched up together, a little bewildered with the sudden burst of hostility with the students and she tried to think of other things when she couldn't come up with any idea what their problem with them was. And just in time, Sofie gasped and pointed to a small pen near the forest. Unicorns.

"Oh my Granger!" She quickly opened her bag to grab her camera. She slung the strap around her neck and grinned broadly. "Unicorns are here! Look how pretty!" Hagrid was walking around, leaving bowls of water for them before turning away and left for his hut. Brittany's eyes grew wide, it was her first time seeing unicorns and all of the bullying problems were cast aside as she followed Sofie running towards the magical beasts.

Reed and Derek shared a fond smile and walked to the girls' direction. Brittany jumped on the pen and willed at least _one_ unicorn to her direction. She wanted to pet one so _badly_. "Real unicorns!" She squeaked and turned to Sofie who was busy clicking away.

"I know! They're _stunning_!" Sofie bounced on the balls of her feet, giggling with excitement when one foal turned its golden head to the two girls curiously. "Bloody – come here little baby unicorn." She cooed. "We're both good little witches who just want to see you up close." She waved her hand, gesturing the beast to trot towards them but it just stared at them for a bit. But with the efforts of the four, it started to take steps towards them. "Aww! Isn't it cute?"

"Tha' she is!" Hagrid appeared behind them, grinning broadly. "I know ya wanted a lesson so here we are! Good thing you came early."

The foal finally came near enough to touch and Brittany caressed her soft skin and mane. "Wow!" It was like the finest silk in the world. It was soft and when she brought her hand to her face it smelled _heavenly_. She couldn't help but say it again. "Wow!"

"So!" Hagrid clapped his big hands together, making the four students jump and turn to him. The unicorn leaned down to munch on the grass languidly. "Any questions before the others come?"

"Where do they come from?" Brittany asked, slowly turning to the unicorn foal to caress her again. Derek and Reed came close too, wanting to touch her mane and she didn't shy away like a grown unicorn would.

"They – uh, come from mummy and daddy unicorns." Hagrid answered.

"There are _boy_ unicorns?" The blonde asked. Her face scrunched up in confusion. "I thought there were only girl unicorns."

"Well, o' course there're boy unicorns!" Hagrid nodded his head from side to side. "There _has_ to be boy unicorns, Brittany."

"…Okay." She shrugged and continued petting the golden animal. "Do they poo rainbows?"

"No, they poo poo." The gamekeeper-professor answered, making Derek and Brittany snort just a little bit. He smiled at the two. "Anything else?" He turned his head towards the castle and noticed the growing number of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs walking down for class. "I think the others are goin' to arrive soon."

Sofie looked up at the dark sky and a question quickly formulated itself in her mouth. "Are they shiny in the sunlight?" She hoped they were.

"Yes." Hagrid answered, earning a miniscule squeal of delight from the tiny girl. "Since they have coats that are gold that turn into silver once they grow up, they have a little shine when they walk in the sunligh'."

"Do they have names?" This question should've been expected from Brittany but it didn't come from her. It came from Sofie, who was taking another picture of the foal, up close this time.

But Brittany _did_ follow up with her own question. "Yeah, how would you know if it's a boy or not if you don't know its name?"

"They don't have names." Hagrid answered.

"I'll call you Majesty." Sofie whispered, awestruck with the unicorn with the tiny horn sprouting from its forehead. "Because you're so majestic."

While she whispered that to Majesty, Hagrid continued to answer Brittany's question. "I just – erm – check to see if it's a girl or a boy."

"How?"

Hagrid cleared his throat and turned to the nearing class. "Tha's somethin' for next year, eh? Now, come on, yer classmates are arrivin'."

"What _are_ we doing today, Professor?" Derek asked politely as they walked away from the unicorns. Sofie and Brittany said a quiet goodbye to Majesty and they decided that they would come back later for fun.

"It's gonna be an excitin' lesson!" He answered enthusiastically. "We're doin' Hippogriffs today!" Reed paled at the thought and Derek muttered a quiet curse for he was _not_ in the right condition to bow and stare a potentially dangerous creature in the eye unflinchingly.

"Ooh! What's that?" Brittany jumped at the unfamiliar concept. "Is it like a Hippo and a Griffin?"

"Er – no, even better!" Hagrid beamed. "See for yourself." He gestured to the open space opposite to the unicorns. There they were feathered, bird-like beings with a horse's hind with wings. Brittany looked at them with awe, she couldn't begin to wonder how they were remotely possible and she wanted to touch one just to know they were really there. As she started to move forward, Sofie immediately held her in place.

"Wait, what?" Brittany whipped her head to her friends' direction. "I just wanted to –"

Sofie shook her head. "No, mate. Not now."

"Yeah," Reed told the blonde in a serious tone, "they've got a procedure and you might lose an arm if you go at them like that."

"Alrigh'!" Their professor's voice boomed in the woods. "Gather 'round! Gather 'round! Let's start this class!" The four friends were right behind their large teacher. Sofie, Reed, and Derek watched the Hippogriffs warily as they passed them while Brittany continued to stare in awe. The creatures stared back and Reed was sure that if they had mouths and teeth, they'd be sneering at them. They joined themselves with the class and Hagrid started. "Now, who can tell me what these are?"

A few hands shot up in the air and Hagrid pointed to a nearby Ravenclaw – Todd. "They're Hippogriffs, professor."

"Very good, five points to Ravenclaw." He said with a nod before going into the lesson.

* * *

><p>It was the week before the Nightingales leave for Beauxbatons, Kurt, Rachel, and Brittany were excited to hear the set list Professor Schue and Lorien came up with. The six of them walked to the choir room for the surprise meeting before lunch, chatting excitedly along the way. "I wonder what songs they picked." Brittany wondered aloud. "I hope we get to do that fun number with a bunch of us dancing up front."<p>

"You're going to Beauxbatons, right?" Sofie was smiling widely. "If you see Elias, tell me!"

"We don't even know what he looks like." Kurt said.

"Ah, but how many Elias-es can there be in a choir? She retorted with a pointed look. "If we're looking at it worst-case scenario I reckon about ten. Best-case, _one_. Middle-case, three. He's probably two to three years older than we are and about this tall." She measured his height by raising her hand over her head a few inches above her. From her memory, Elias was a little taller than Kurt. "Just tell me, yeah? Oh, remember, his last name is LeNendre." Kurt realized that he forgot that Elias was part of the Sirens (Beauxbatons' choir) and that Sofie knew his surname.

"Do you want us to remind him of you?" Rachel teased, earning a push from the Ravenclaw. They shared a laugh.

"No! Of course not! That would be horrible and desperate and just plain pathetic." Sofie rolled her eyes, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And Sofia Salvadair doesn't do any of that."

"Noted." Rachel said.

"Good, just tell me. A quick note like: We saw Elias. We love you. Then I'll be like: Bloody hell!" She flipped her short hair in a mock pompous way and her friends chuckled. "I believe that's what's going to happen."

"It's going to be so different without you three around for a month." Derek said when they neared the room. He threw his arms around Brittany and Kurt who was nearest to him. "I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you too, my pillow." Brittany smiled and squeezed Derek's hand. She's gotten into the habit of lying on Derek while they study in the Hufflepuff common room. "Take care of Lord Tubbington for me, yeah?"

"Of course." She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Let's just go have a long nice day of togetherness this weekend when we go to Hogsmeade." Rachel suggested. "It'll be a nice time to bond some more." All the others agreed happily, less so Kurt but he decided that it would be good for calming his feelings of homicide towards Rachel.

"And here we are." Reed announced when they reached the choir room. The door was open and they could see the Nightingales chatting about. Lorien and their choir director weren't there yet. "Good luck, you three. I hope you get the songs you want."

Kurt and Rachel shared a look of faked cheer, more on Kurt's than on Rachel's. They had duelled for a song, _Defying Gravity_, and Professor Schue didn't tell them who was going to get the solo that was going to feature a soloist. Kurt was sure that he did nearly as good as Rachel and he sincerely hoped that the professor had a hard time choosing (he hoped that he was chosen). Rachel looked up at him and it took all of her not to glare. She resented Kurt for going against her but she chalked that up to friendly competition that pushed her to do her _greatest_ ever rendition of the song. "Yes," Kurt said, "I hope we do."

"Me too." Rachel replied. There was a moment where an awkward air hung among them, something Derek immediately shooed away. Something like that wasn't needed here and with the clearly brewing fight between the two friends, it wasn't welcome at all.

"Well, good luck! You know, with everything." Derek said, practically shoving them into the choir room. "We'll be out here so we can walk together for lunch."

The three friends in the choir room walked to the back to sit down. Rachel took the seat nearest to the performance floor while Brittany and Kurt sat up on the elevated floor behind her. He greeted Mercedes who sat beside him right at the time Professor Schue and Lorien came in the room, closing the door behind them. Before the door even closed completely, the three of them (and Mercedes) saw Derek and Sofie looking at Lorien's back (and backside). The three of them stifled a giggle. Mercedes nudged Kurt. "Is Derek gay?" She whispered.

Before Kurt could answer, Professor Schue spoke up. "Hello Nightingales!" They replied with a series of hi's and hello's. "It's a week before we leave for Beauxbatons and Lorien and I have prepared the three-song set list for our slot."

"We aren't going to keep you here long." Lorien grinned broadly, showing his perfect row of teeth. "We'll just tell you the set list and Professor Schue will give us some reminders. I don't know about you but I'm starving." The others laughed.

"Alright, so Lorien and I gave this a lot of thought." The professor glanced at Kurt and Rachel quickly. The Slytherin puffed up and smiled, irking Kurt a little bit. Professor Schue turned to the rest again, advancing to the rest of his announcement. "And we're sure we've picked well and if you're a little disappointed that the solo or the song you want isn't included, well, there's always next year." Some nodded in agreement and the professor opened his palm to Lorien who produced some parchment from his robe. The choir captain sat down with the rest of the choir, who waited anxiously for the list. Professor Schue cleared his throat when he opened the parchment. "Our first number will be the mash-up we did with Althea Duskwort and Margaux Austen's songs _The Dawn Breaks/Princess_ – respectively, featuring mostly the girls." The girls cheered, especially the sixth and seventh years, who are getting a final hurrah before they leave and Brittany, who got the number she wanted. "Our second number will be a solo by none other than Rachel Berry, _Defying Gravity_." Rachel squealed and clapped with overwhelming delight, she got to perform the song! She even looked smug, excessively so.

Kurt, on the other hand, wasn't pleased. "What?" He blurted, unable to comprehend the news. He did it as good as Rachel, _he_ wanted that solo as much as _she_ did. Somehow, it didn't compute at all. The classroom fell silent and every head turned to Kurt. It's been a long time since someone protested against a set list. "What do you mean Rachel got _Defying Gravity_?"

"Kurt –" Mercedes whispered but is cut off by the professor.

"Kurt, we chose Rachel. It was a hard decision," _good_, Kurt sneered, "but at the end of the day, it's still a girl's song."

"So _what_ if it's a girl's song. I sang it. I reached that high F." The Gryffindor's anger was reaching a boiling point and a sensible human being would quail at this. Rachel wasn't sensible; she was offended that Kurt would defend for _her_ solo again. _Why can't you just be happy for me, Kurt?_ She thought as she stared at him disbelievingly.

"Kurt, what's done is done. We asked if you two could do it as a duet instead but Rachel insisted that it was a solo so we had to choose. Rachel is singing _Defying Gravity_ and that's it." Professor Schue said with finality, making Kurt huff back into his seat so he could seethe properly. Brittany forced back a whimper; this did not look like it was going to have a happy ending. "Anyway," he sent another pointed look at Kurt before continuing, "Rachel is singing _Defying Gravity_ for our second song. Finally, we're doing a group number with Hindley and the Hippogriffs' song _Put Your Dreams Up_, featuring Lorien, Logan, Santana, Ann, and Elora on lead." Some choir members, already over the outburst of the Gryffindor, sounded their approval with the last song – a power ballad, it would surely end their set with a huge bang. "Alright, so reminders…"

Kurt didn't listen to those anymore (he was sure Mercedes was going to remind him), he just blanked out, jaw set, eyes glaring at the wall. Even though he wouldn't be totally in love with the idea of sharing the song, it would've been better than to be rejected. This was Rachel's fault, insisting that it should only be a solo. He could even remember her condescending little speech on how it would be just plain _wrong_ for _Defying_ _Gravity_ to be turned into a duet let alone a group number. She just thinks she's better than him – than everybody and he was now profoundly pissed off.

"Kurt, meeting's over." Brittany's voice brought him back down from his dark cloud of anger and he didn't mean to glare at her when she did. He sighed angrily and shot up from his seat and stalked out of the room. Sofie, Reed, and Derek instantly noticed the anger in Kurt's walk. Rachel rolled her eyes after her friend and decided to have a word with him.

"Kurt, what's wrong?" Sofie asked as soon as he was in earshot.

"What's your problem, Kurt?" Rachel's livid voice sounded from behind him. She didn't like the way he took the news. A friend would be happy for her. "I thought you were my friend! Are you just jealous that _I _am singing that solo and –"

Kurt whirled around, fury etched on his face, surprising Rachel into silence. Of course he was jealous. No, he wasn't going to give Rachel the satisfaction of hearing that. Besides, he's got other things to put on the table for her to eat up. "You think that I'm just jealous? It's you Rachel! You and your insufferably annoying personality. You're not the only star! It's irritating the hell out of me – all of us even, that you think you're greater than the rest of us!"

Rachel looked like she'd been slapped. All of them? Was everyone really that against her for shining like she wanted? It wasn't fair and she was doing what came naturally. "I _resent_ that accusation!"

"Oh _please_." Kurt rolled his eyes. Was she really that ignorant to not notice that she's being a horrible diva monster? Or did she really not care? "You'd claw for any opportunity to sing solo. Like you're any better than I am." There were already spectators to the brewing fight between the short Slytherin and the angry Gryffindor. Their friends were standing still, unable to do anything. They didn't know what to do if they were able to anyway. Professor Schue was already far for this corridor and so was Lorien, who rushed to finish an assignment at the Gryffindor table. No one could really break it off.

"I am." Rachel glared, now furious. Kurt needed to hear the truth of what she thought.

"What?" Kurt said with teeth clenched.

"Oh no." Derek whispered, shaking his head. Sofie was having the same thought and she tried to reach into her friend's mind, willing her not to continue. _Rachel, don't say it._ She thought. Disastrously, Rachel didn't listen.

"I am better than you, you know." She said with more conviction and with her chin held high. She was a star and she was going to shine brighter than everyone. Kurt was just trying to bring her down because she knew he was jealous. Tough luck for him, Rachel Berry wasn't going to go down that easily.

Kurt laughed in her face, a kind of laugh that he couldn't believe she said it. It was a kind of laugh that mocked her. He realized that he didn't need her. It was the kind of laugh that meant the end of a friendship. Rachel refused to flinch when he did that and continued to glare. At the end of the laugh, he pulled out his wand. She did the same.

"Woah, woah! Mates! Let's not have a duel in the middle of the corridors!" Sofie jumped in between the two. This caused some of the spectators to turn in regret that they even watched in the first place, this shouldn't be happening to best friends. It was a pity; Rachel and Kurt were actually good together. Santana and X, as well as some other students, were disappointed that a little battle wasn't going to happen. "Please, can we just settle this in a mature –"

"No. I'm done with her and her _crap_!" He yelled into Rachel's face and turned on his heel to walk away. To where? It didn't matter; he just needed to be far, far, _far_ from Rachel. Kurt refused to cry, there was nothing to cry about. She's been picking on his nerves since they started real choir that year and fight was long overdue. Sure, he could've talked to her about it but he didn't really believe that she'd change. She went after what she wanted. She would do anything for it. Friendship as a cost? _I bet it was easy for her. I bet she planned this._ He thought angrily as he wiped some tears away. _Stupid tears. _From then on, Kurt told himself not to care for Rachel Berry ever again, whatever she did. And he also established that he was going to crush her under his shoes.

"Kurt!" Reed called, hoping to salvage something – anything! But it was hopeless. There was nothing anyone could do.

"Yeah, well, I'm sick of you trying to pull me down!" Rachel's loud voice rang through the corridors. "I don't _need_ you!" Kurt continued to ignore her and with a huff, she turned the opposite way and stalked off to Slytherin, she needed to lie down. When she turned the corridor and she was sure she was alone, she began to cry. She knew this would happen. She knew that someday she was going to lose a friend because of her need to shine. It hurt, a lot. She tried to remind herself that it was necessary, that, at least, she would have no more remorse if she wanted to take something from Kurt. With their friendship dissolved, shouldn't she be happy that there would be less hindrance to her dreams? She continued to cry, her vision blurring with tears. This didn't go the way she wanted. But what's done is done, she got her solo, she lost her friend.

"Rachel!" Brittany shouted after the brunette but she was long gone and there was nothing the remaining friends could do. She started to sniffle and Sofie pulled her into a side hug. "But –"

"Oof, that sucks." Logan said with a bit of sympathy. He saw it coming though, what with Kurt glaring at Rachel from time to time. He stood in front of the group when all the others dispersed when the two walked away. Blaine stood beside him, looking solemn as well as concerned. This must be hard on them after being "those six kids" for a couple of years. They were six of them left in the empty corridor, but it wasn't like before.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Sofie said, now uncaring who she was talking to. It was like a stab to the chest when she saw the two of them pull their wands out before walking away. She couldn't believe she missed something like this starting between the two. Any of them could've stopped it at some point. _If only Kurt told us._ She sighed.

"Maybe they'll come around." The blond offered again, putting his elbow on Blaine's shoulder. The shorter boy looked at the arm and then up to Logan's face before turning away, biting his lip softly.

"I hope." Derek muttered, feeling a little bit exposed and violated by what just happened. He believed that this would never happen to them. He _expected_ that this would never happen. With that expectation shattered, he felt really down.

"Give those two some time," Blaine said, shrugging, "I'm sure they'll be friends again in no time."

* * *

><p>Their friendship never mended, no matter how many times Sofie, Reed, Brittany, or Derek tried to convince them. Kurt and Rachel would adamantly refuse to talk about it. The four of them were at loss; their two friends weren't going to settle their differences at all. They've tried everything and when they tried to lock them in a room together, they all got detention for destroying a classroom (who knew the two of them had procured that much spells?) Of course, none of them wanted to blame either Rachel or Kurt (except of course Rachel and Kurt) so they all took all of it (Kurt and Rachel would finish their detention during their first week at Beauxbatons). And even then, the two refused to speak to each other. Sofie finally decided that it was pointless and those two could fix it or not. The other three decided that it was best too, though they weren't really keen on it.<p>

It was much different in the practices too, Brittany noticed, Rachel and Kurt wouldn't even look at each other's direction. The only difference is, no one really talked to Rachel as much as Kurt. She seemed to take it with a straight face and a strong disposition. Sometimes she would sit by Rachel but then she would feel bad for Kurt, and vice versa. She was getting more and more confused every day.

Since there wasn't anything the four could do, they tried their best to keep them as friends. But it wasn't the same and they didn't hang out that much anymore. They hoped that during the month at Beauxbatons they would become friends again. Reed theorized that if the Nightingales win, they might hug and decide to put away their differences. That's what they were hoping for and they told Brittany to make sure they didn't kill each other.

The day came that the Nightingales were leaving Hogwarts via portkeys. The luggage had their own portkey and they were going to be transported to the front of the guest cottages near the school. Those cottages were erected for competition purposes. Friends of the twenty one members were saying goodbye and good luck. The Nightingales were excited of course, the set list was strong and they were sure to get first place (or second place but nothing lower than that).

Brittany hugged Derek tightly. The three decided to do a cycle, each saying a quick goodbye to Rachel, Kurt, and Brittany. They were on their last leg. Derek pushed Brittany's hat lower into her head, making it snug and secured. "You never know what you're going to lose while you're using a portkey." He said. "I'm sure Sofie and Reed told you how it works." She nodded. "I'll miss you, Brit-Brit."

"I'll miss you too, Dere." She said. "But I'll be back in a month!"

"Go kill them with your dance moves." He nudged her stomach and she giggled.

"I will."

To the far left, Reed was talking to Rachel who was once again in a hideous outfit (it was truly horrible and he honestly thought that she was only doing it to smite Kurt). He tentatively adjusted the scarf and pushed her hair from her face. "There. All neat."

She smiled at him. "Thanks, Reed."

"Are you nervous?" He asked.

"Not right now." She said and put her hands in her coat pockets. "But it's still a month away. I get jitters right before we start. Luckily I brought the special tea my dads made for me for occasions like that." She teetered quietly for a bit and she opened her arms. "I'm going to hug you now." Reed laughed and met her halfway.

"Knock them dead with your solo, Rach." He smiled and hugged her tightly. "Make them cry." They shared a chuckle and she kissed his cheek.

"I intend to." She smirked and even though this is what brought on the fight, Reed couldn't help but appreciate the determination that resided in his friend.

And at the same time, completely opposite to Rachel and Reed, Sofie and Kurt were saying their own heartfelt goodbyes. "Please don't kill her." She said as Kurt tightened the scarf around her neck and realigned the broach she used to pin it down.

"I'll try not to." Kurt said through his teeth, he didn't like it when his friends mentioned the girl at all. But since they didn't want to take any sides, he just had to live with it. He looked up and Sofie was giving him a serious, stern look, making him sigh. "I won't do anything provoke her or anything."

"That's my boy." She smiled with ease and reached up to ruffle Kurt's hair but he stopped her.

"Not now, Ravenclaw." He said before pulling her into a quick hug. "Take care of Reed and Derek while we're gone."

"Please, I do that _all_ the time, I'm practically their mum." She laughed and as they pulled away from the hug. "Good luck out there, write to me when you see Elias, and kick all those schools' arses."

"With pleasure, Sof." He grinned.

"And don't worry; it's still your first year." He bristled a little bit though he knew that this would lead to a comforting gesture. She placed a hand on his shoulder and they looked at each other, blue eyes to bluer eyes. "You've got what? Three, four years to get solos? You're really good, Kurt and I'm sure Professor Schue knows that. Besides, if you want one so badly this year there's always the special song the choir does during dinner the night before we leave for the holidays."

"Yes," his mouth softened into a genuine smile, "you're right. Thanks for that."

"Come on, let's hug again." She laughed and they did. Once all the goodbyes were said, the Nightingales walked to their portkeys, there were four, one for the luggage and three for the members. With one final wave, they disappeared into the air one portkey at the time until they weren't there anymore. Sofie, Reed, and Derek stood there, sighing at the empty space and the missing members of their little group. Fortunately, they were supposed to go to Hogsmeade today and a little trip to Honeydukes would remedy the situation for a little bit. They locked their arms together and trudged to the village with the rest of the students. As they reached the gates of Hogwarts, snow started falling from the sky. Sofie smiled and took a picture of it as soon as there was enough falling. The three of them smiled up at the sky, feeling a few flurries touch their face. They silently wondered if it was snowing at Beauxbatons too.

"I hope they have fun." Derek mused as they began to walk again, the two Ravenclaws agreed with smiles. It was unusually quiet for them when they arrived at Hogsmeade and Derek decided to remedy that by reciting _Mean Girls_ quotes that caused a few chuckles from Reed and Sofie, therefore eliciting a conversation.

Before they arrived at Honeydukes, they were intercepted by Sofie's cousin, Quinn. "Sofie!" She hissed and ran towards her. "Hide me."

"What? From who?" Sofie asked as Quinn tried to hide behind Derek and Reed, peeking through their arms from time to time.

"Jesse St. James." Quinn sneered as she peeked again. "He won't leave me alone and it's _really_ annoying. I'll never go for a sleazy roach like him! Bloody – there he is." She immediately curled into a ball, trying to be as small as possible. Sofie stepped forward before Jesse could come remotely close to the makeshift hide out.

"Hi, Jesse." She said coolly. She silently praised herself for a good job because she fancied Jesse before. _That's it Salvadair, you're a friendly girl. You can talk to attractive people._ "Looking for something?"

"Yeah, your cousin, Quinn. Have you seen her?" He answered with a smirk. "I'd love to talk to her about some uh – Quidditch things."

"Right." Sofie nodded along. "I think I saw her go into Three Broomsticks just seconds before you came to me."

"Thanks, love." Jesse winked and Sofie tried her best not to blush and giggle while he was still nearby. She turned around, Reed and Derek grinning at her. She glared at them but they just started sniggling.

"All clear, Quinn." Sofie announced.

The blonde jumped out from behind Derek and Reed, expression still a little irritated. "Did you _hear_ him?" She scoffed. "'Thanks, love'." She said in a low tone that did not sound like Jesse at all. She crossed her arms. "Don't ever go for blokes like that, Sofie. They're just wankers who having nothing better to do in their life and think very highly of themselves." She bent down to hug her cousin still muttering something about Seeking and Quidditch. "Thanks, I owe you. I better go hide somewhere safer, like the Shrieking Shack." And with that Quinn Fabray trotted off in the snow in search of her friends and a hiding spot.

"I don't know why she doesn't go for Jesse." Sofie wondered, returning to her place beside Reed. "He's pretty fit."

"Maybe she doesn't like his attitude." Reed answered as they moved towards Honeydukes Sweetshop. "She seemed a little chaffed by him."

Sofie waved it off. "Details, details." They stopped in front of the shop with wide grins growing on their faces. They loved this shop to death and they entered it with as much enthusiasm as any other student. They were separated once they came in since they wanted different things but they kept close enough to see each other once they looked over their shoulders. Derek loved this place the best since the shop owners were always happy to see him and they had all his favourite wizarding sweets. If this shop sold his muggle favourites he'd probably decide to live there for the rest of his existence. They all decided while they walked to the village, that they would just buy a few sweets and go to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeer before going back to Hogwarts to just walk around in its warm corridors.

Derek was having trouble deciding whether he would buy the Exploding Bonbons or some fat toffees. He already bought some cauldron cakes, which he was balancing on with the hand that had the bonbons. He looked over his shoulder and saw Reed stumbling into another room of the shop and he couldn't really see Sofie. He shrugged and went back to picking, toffees or bonbons. Suddenly someone took the Cauldron Cakes from his hands. There were snickers aimed at him. "Hey!" He said in protest.

"You shouldn't be adding on to your weight, Puff, or you're going to start sinking into the ground. Or start random earthquakes while you walk, whichever comes first." It was Amos again. He smirked and raised the cakes in a mock salute. Derek frowned and hung his head a little bit, wishing them to go away. "Oh and, thanks for the cakes." They turned away and laughed again.

"I can't believe he fit through that door." One older Ravenclaw said maliciously.

"Why does he even go here?" Another said, a girl this time. "I mean if I were that disgustingly fat, I'd steer clear from this place."

"Maybe that Puff's just as stupid as the blonde." Their laughter echoed in the shop and even though no one really paid attention to them, Derek heard every word of what they said it bubbled in the pit of stomach. He wanted to vomit and his frown turned into a grimace. He threw the toffee and bonbons back into their place and crossed his arms over his chest. All the past weight jokes and bullying came back to him in a series of hurtful and embarrassing flashbacks of being tripped and ridiculed, giving his stomach all the more reason to be upset. He went looking for Reed or Sofie. He needed to be around them. Their taunting voices never left his mind and he suddenly felt self-conscious of his body. He suddenly felt every jiggle of his step and how the buttons of his coat was straining against his belly. Before he could feel absolutely dejected, he found Sofie looking through Pixie Puffs selections. He sighed in relief.

"Hey." He said standing behind her.

"Oh, hey." She looked down in his hands and was surprised to find that Derek wasn't holding armfuls of sweets. "Didn't you buy anything?"

Derek's mouth went dry and yes, he did crave for those sweets but he didn't want to eat them anymore since he was so _disgustingly fat_. The frown appeared for a nanosecond before he shrugged and covered it up with a small smile. "I already ate the Cauldron Cakes and – uh, I didn't want anything else."

She snorted. "That's a first. Derek Breaker, doesn't want more?" Derek pretended to chuckle with her and it didn't really sound all that fake – that was a good thing.

"I don't know. Maybe it's just one of those days." He said, smiling a little bit though he wanted those Pixi Puffs Sofie took from the shelf.

"Yeah." She nodded. It was strange that Derek didn't come with a bucket of sweets but then again he did mention that he ate the cauldron cakes he bought and who knows how many be bought and consumed. "Come on; let's look for Reed and then we're off to the Three Broomsticks." Derek followed, resisting all the sweets that were calling his name. He didn't want them anymore. He was going to show them, he's going to be thin one day. He clutched his stomach again, suddenly bothered by his layers. He gulped down the bile that was coming up his throat and bit down a small sob.

Derek Breaker had a plan and he didn't know where it would take him, he thought it was going to be easy but it was far from it. Amos and his friends didn't know how they impacted on the boy they teased just for "a laugh" and it was going to cause some problems at some point in time.

* * *

><p>Up in the French countryside near the city of Cannes, beheld the beautiful palace that is known as the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. It was a pristine place, overlooking the sea. It was blue and white and even though it's most likely as old as Hogwarts, it still seemed to retain that new castle look. It stood near a cliff and below the cliff was a beach of white sand and crystal clear water where students often visit during long breaks between classes and on the weekend. Near the palace itself were two different cottages that were bigger on the inside than they were outside. These cottages housed two schools, one from Hogwarts and one from Cross School of Magic (Italy) since neither of the schools could get to Beauxbatons in any other means except through portkey. These cottages not only have sleeping quarters but a practice area as well near the back. In the house on the left, Hogwarts students spent the night. They had to learn the French way for the next month. They've been successfully integrated into their classes though Professor Schue and McGonagall had to provide magical hearing devices that would translate French to English for some students who couldn't understand the language. Classrooms were a bit cramped at first, with four new schools invading Beauxbatons, but after the first week, they all got used to it a little.<p>

They practiced four times a week until they had the number so memorized that they could do it blindfolded. The cottage was buzzing with excitement for the upcoming competition; nothing anyone could do would ruin this for them. Not even the intimidating beauties that are the Beauxbatons students. The girls and the boys of the group hardly found it fair that all the pretty people are in France and did their best to flirt with them or at least try since most of the students couldn't be bothered with "zees foreigners". However, some of them actually welcome "ze flirteeng". Then there were the Italian students from Cross, the German ones from Cavvan, and Hungarian ones from Durmstrang…

Basically the place was just a hotbed of teenage hormones and intrigue.

Even the third years were subjected to it even though they weren't entirely comfortable yet. "Think of it as initiation." Lorien joked right before he eyed a dark-haired Cross girl waving at him from across the cottage. Kurt and Brittany watched as their captain quickly lopped off the other side. The older Nightingales were away canoodling with the enemy since there wasn't any practice. They were two of the six that stayed in the cottage at times like these. Even Mercedes was taken away by a few students from Cross and Durmstrang. The other four were Rachel (who Kurt was avoiding at the moment), a sixth year Hufflepuff named Thomas Hart, Milly Hart's younger brother (he didn't really talk much with other people except Hufflepuffs – reason: unknown), finally there were Blaine and Logan who were suspiciously together most of the time.

Brittany and Kurt didn't really feel comfortable with the "batifolage" the others did. Brittany's been getting the _most_ attention but she didn't know how to speak French, German, Italian, or Hungarian and she thinks broken English with thick accents is another language all together so she's just really confused as to how to reciprocate. She enjoys it a little bit, she liked giggling and blushing but that's as far as she could go with any of the boys. She was invited by a few students from Cavvan down to the beach but she could hardly understand and decided to spend time with Kurt.

Kurt on the other hand was getting attention, but it wasn't really something he welcomed since it came from boys. It just confused him further and no one's seemed to notice (everyone noticed) and he just couldn't handle it anymore. As soon as school ended he would run to the cottage as fast as he can, avoiding anyone from any of the schools who were ballsy enough (mostly everyone) to _flirt_ with him. After the second week, he swore that if he heard "hi, you have really nice eyes" one more time he was going to stab someone with his wand and jinx them from the inside-out. It was strange new ground for him since in Hogwarts no one flirted with him, then suddenly he gets like ten admirers in a day both girls _and_ boys, it was excruciatingly bewildering. He slumped down the swinging bench that sat on the porch overlooking the cliff.

"What's wrong, Kurt?" Brittany asked, sitting beside her friend.

"It's just…" Could he really talk about it with Brittany now? He looked into her soft blue eyes and wondered if he should tell her about his sexuality problems. But he was still irrationally afraid to say that he's probably gay (most probably gay). He sucked in a breath and offered a smile to Brittany. She smiled back and covered his hand with hers.

"I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything." She said, barely above a whisper. Kurt looked around for a bit and sighed. She was right, they were best friends and he should tell her – and the rest of them, but like Derek, he found one person to confide in first before telling everyone else. He couldn't even begin to think about telling his dad and mum but that's for some other time.

"I like…"

Brittany gasped. "Rachel."

"Ew no." Kurt scrunched his face in distaste, making Brittany laugh a little bit. "I like boys, I think."

"You mean just like Derek does?" She said with eyes wide and head titled to the side like it would help her thinking process. Kurt nodded unhurriedly. "Why didn't you tell us sooner? You know we won't mind if you do."

"I know, I know." He sighed again. "But I think I was just being irrationally afraid of admitting it to you because I was afraid to admit it to myself. It's who I am and I was afraid to embrace it." Kurt turned to the setting sun and watched it starting to go down ever so slowly. "I just – I just thought I was confused and I'll be like every normal boy… But I guess I'm not."

"You _are_ normal, Kurt." Brittany said conversationally, hoping to lighten the mood. She even started swinging the chair back and forth. "Don't be afraid of being who you are because it'll just – I don't know, make you really sad. Like if I didn't want to be a dancer and I was really good that would be just plain horrid. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" Because she sort of didn't.

"Um, yeah, sure Brit." Kurt nodded; he got it, kind of. Having Brittany try to explain something to him was a bit awkward but somehow heart-warming. They looked into space for a bit before Brittany turned to him again.

"Derek's there too if you want to talk to someone about it." She said. "You should tell them too, you know."

"Yeah." Kurt agreed. "But let's wait. I need to pluck up some more courage to tell them."

"I don't get why you need to, they're your best friends." She said and squeezed his hand gently. "But at least you told me."

"I suppose." He said. "You know, I've been practicing with inanimate objects."

Brittany snorted. "Practicing?"

Kurt cracked a smile. "You know, I keep telling my scarves 'I'm gay' or telling my shoes, or telling my shampoo bottle. I like how they don't reply or react."

"That's cute." She said, giggling.

"I suppose it is." Kurt giggled as well. They shared a moment of silence before a Beauxbatons boy came to view with a beach towel under his arm. Two students, a boy and a girl went ahead of him and he waved them off. Kurt and Brittany found him familiar and as he came closer they realized that it was Elias – the very same Elias that was introduced to them when the five choirs met on location for the first time. The very same Elias who Sofie met in Paris a year ago. Then they realized that they haven't updated Sofie about the fact that they found Elias already. "We didn't tell Sofie yet."

"Ooh, do you think Sofie's going to be mad?" Brittany asked.

"I don't think so." Kurt shrugged.

Elias LeNendre was medium built with wavy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. They haven't heard him sing but from the few times they talked, it was hinted that he might be singing at the competition that year. Only time could tell at that point. He turned around to a figure, a girl, hurrying towards him. "Sophie! Viens ici! Vite, vite! Le soleil se couche!" He called towards her. He turned around again, hands on his hips, waiting for his friend to arrive. He wanted to see the sun set and Sophie was walking too slow. He noticed Brittany and Kurt in the cottage and recognized them. He waved. "Bonjour!"

"Bonjour!" Kurt called back in a friendly tone.

"Aren' you going to ze beach?" He asked with an accent, only his was better than most.

"No! We're fine!" Kurt replied and Elias nodded with a smile. He turned again to the girl, who was nearer now, clearly out of breath.

"Sophie!" He said, urging her to move faster.

"Attends, Elias." She breathed out and leaned on her knees when she arrived near her friend. She was slightly plumper than the other girls; her shoulder length black hair that was tied back in a ponytail. She pushed her glasses back up her nose and she waved to Brittany and Kurt. It was clear that this Sophie was the same Sophie they have Potions class with. She was part of the Sirens too. Once Sophie caught her breath, the two students went down to the beach, waving goodbye one last time before turning their backs. They started bickering in rapid French very loudly, making Brittany laugh a little bit. Kurt proposed that they should write to Sofie, Reed, and Derek today since it was the end of the week – the day they were allowed to send letters to Hogwarts collectively.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sofie, Derek, and Reed,<em>

_It's me, Brittany. We're writing to tell you that we're doing really well here in Beauxbatons. Everyone's really lovely even though I can hardly understand what they're saying. We forgot to mention Elias in the last letter. Sorry. Getting used to this new school can be confusing and not just to me, for all of us. And uhh… We're sort of friends with him, he's super nice and even though I can't understand his language I'm sure he means well. Lots of boys from different schools are "flirting" with me as Kurt and a bunch of other people said. It's weird. And I'm sure they're nice and all but I don't understand what they're saying! It's annoying. I can't wait to get back to Hogwarts where I can understand everyone. Anyway, the palace here is really pretty and I wish I could take a picture of it. Lorien said that we always take a group picture with the host castle in the background before leaving! Rachel's fine. I talk to her from time to time and she's the same as always. I always find her singing though, like she doesn't have anything better to do but I guess that's me coming in at the same time all the time. She misses you! I miss you too. And so does Kurt. Give our love to Lord Tubbington and Ellyse! Put in Alec and Erik in there as well! Oh and Sofie, what do you want us to do with Elias? Do you want us to talk to him about you? We haven't yet but you need to tell us what to do! _

_Is that all? _

_Yup, that's it._

_We miss you loads,_

_Brittany_

"That slag." Sofie chortled. Derek was sitting at the Ravenclaw table awkwardly as they read the message together. He felt like he was intruding and some of the Claws thought so too but they didn't do anything about it. It was way too early anyway. "She's getting all the action there. I knew I should've joined the Nightingales." This got the look of, not only Derek and Reed, but also her roommates, Regine and Alice. Sofie looked up from the letter and began to laugh. "I was joking. I can't sing even if my _life_ depended on it. My _Weasley_, it's like you don't know me at all." She stuffed another piece of soft boiled egg into her mouth. Reed took the letter from her and read it for himself.

"So, what do you want them to do with Elias?" He asked afterwards.

"Nothing, abso-bloodly-lutely nothing." Sofie answered, poking her fork in the air, making it a very clear point. "I don't want them to mention _anything_ because it might make me sound really pathetic and wouldn't it be horrible if he told them 'oh who zis dis Sofie you speak of'?" Her eyebrows rose. "Am I right?"

"I suppose." Alice said, finishing her breakfast.

"So, do nothing." Reed asked.

"Yes." Sofie nodded and finished the last of her egg breakfast.

"Alright, I'll be writing them back." Reed smiled and got out of his place.

"Anyway, those Nightingales will get all the fun with all those foreign boys." She sighed as they started to stand up so they could get to class. The Ravenclaws had Charms with the Gryffindors while the Hufflepuffs had Defence with the Slytherins. The classrooms were just a corridor away so they decided to eat and walk together. Derek got out of the bench with a little difficulty that made him frown. The sad part is that it was something that was once funny to him, now it's just humiliating.

"Yeah, foreign boys." Derek said once he got out.

"All those beautiful people." She sighed again and clicked her tongue. "Darn my parents for not giving me musical talent that will get me into foreign schools once a year."

"You go to Paris almost every Christmas," Derek deadpanned, "and if not Christmas, summer."

"Yes, but here's the thing." She said and began to gesture in the air to make her point. "I'm with my family as in, aside from that all-too-brief encounter with Elias, they're like boy repellents. Like if a boy would come up to me my brothers – and father – will get all glare-y. Also, my general awkward will just make them say 'oh I think my parents are – how do you say – calling me'."

"Except that time with Elias." Derek's eyebrow rose teasingly and Sofie grinned broadly, remembering that space in time on the Eiffel Tower. "You look so red right now."

"Shut up, you're ruining a flashback." She shoved him playfully to the side though he didn't really move an inch because his weight absorbed most of the force. They shared a laugh. When the time came they had to separate, Derek steeled himself and walked to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom by himself. Terry, Cody, and Justin probably went ahead since they ate fast while Sofie and her friends eat like turtles. He peeked into the corridor, anxious that there will be older students. He didn't like it when he was alone at Hogwarts (which wasn't all the time) but now that Brittany and Rachel were gone he felt really exposed. Thankfully the corridor was empty and he walked briskly to the room on the other side. He hoped that Terry saved him a seat since Slytherins weren't really the friendliest people in the world – not to judge them all but some of them were really nice but most of them aren't.

His walk through the corridor didn't include any taunting or fear so he sighed in relief when he reached the classroom. It's a good thing it was open because being alone gave him a fear that one day he would walk into the wrong classroom and die of embarrassment. _It's the room. It's the right room, just go in!_ He was greeted by a familiar blond once he stepped in. "Derek, mate! Took you long enough!" Terry waved from one of the desks and there was an empty space beside him that seemed to signify that he _did_, in fact, save him a seat. Derek waved and smiled back, walking to his seat immediately.

As soon as he sat down, the bells rang and Professor Sylvester came out of her room. The class immediately fell silent under her glower. Sue Sylvester has always been ruthless. She couldn't afford to go soft when she was an auror and she kept that mind-set even after they sacked her when she was caught punishing her colleagues when they couldn't catch a wizard doing slave trade with house elves. It was sloppy, as she said, they were all sloppy! And after a brief rehabilitation at St. Mungo's (she knocked out ten wizards before one finally got her into a full body-bind curse) she was offered a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The students heard that this was her rehabilitated state and they did not want to know what she was really like before. "Turn to chapter three, page one hundred and two." She said sternly. Her wand hand shot out from under her robe and the blinds immediately closed. Another stab and a projector with its screen appeared. A picture appeared on the screen and she walked down the stairs. "Now, can anyone tell me what creature appeared on that screen?" She asked coolly. No one answered when she reached the bottom step. "Well?" The class flinched collectively and one hand shot up tentatively. "You! Slytherin girl with the loose ponytail and ugly headband."

Stella stood up shakily and drew in her breath, she moved to adjust her headband – which she liked – and she said. "Professor, there isn't a creature on the screen." She half expected to be eviscerated right then and there.

"Very good, Doll Face. Do you know why that is?"

"I –" Her mouth went completely dry and everyone suddenly felt sorry for her. "The," she cleared her throat while Professor Sylvester smirked, enjoying the squirming girl, "the creature must be a shapeshifter and doesn't have a definite form…?"

"Is that a question, Ugly Headband? Because I'm the only one allowed to ask questions here." Stella gulped audibly. Professor Sylvester was one of the meanest teachers in the world (though some _claim_ she has a soft spot somewhere), right behind her were Professor Button, whose Transfiguration lessons were hard but at least she was somewhat nice, and Professor Amato, who takes Ancient Runes _way_ too seriously. What makes her the meanest is that she seemed to enjoy seeing them in pain.

"Oh – uh – I mean. It's a shapeshifter and it doesn't have a definite form." She said quickly.

"Very good, five points to Slytherin, you may sit down." The professor walked to the centre of the room and stood beside the screen. Her wand whistled through the air as she pointed to the blank screen. "Headband Brunette is right, _this_ is a shapeshifter. Tell me which shapeshifter it is. Don't look at me with those blank expressions; you're going to start to look like sock puppets – clumsily made sock puppets. I made you open your books for a reason." And in creepy unison, everyone looked down on their books.

A couple of hands shot up and she pointed to a Hufflepuff. "Fat Boy." A few people snickered at the back. Derek blushed with embarrassment and he felt a little distressed that he almost forgot the answer. He stood up.

"It's a Kelpie, professor."

"Very good, Puffling, five points to Hufflepuff." He sat back down and the professor made a thoughtful sound. "I didn't tell you to sit down yet." Derek immediately stood up straight and sweat started to bead on his head. "What's a Kelpie?"

"It's a…" He glanced down his book and narrowed his eyes a little bit to see the introduction. "A water uh demon that can take up any form and uh lures people to the water and eats them. Yeah." He smiled nervously.

"I'd give you ten points but your stammer and general fat distracted me – six points. Sit." Derek's chest stung a little bit as he sat down. He slumped on his chair and Terry patted his shoulder. He looked up and they shared a small smile. They didn't dare speak in fear of unleashing the beast on themselves. "Now, Kelpies are dark, hideous, carnivorous creatures that live in the water – hence water demon – and lures stupid travellers with its deathly hypnotic stare, usually in the shape of the horse, into the water. They eat them up and leave the entails to float and decay in their body of water." Some students showed signs of disgust and Professor Sylvester glared at them. _I sense weakness._ "They're very dangerous dark creatures which is why we are talking about it today. They're very smart creatures." The projection flipped with a flick of her wand and changed with every word. "Horse, mostly a horse. A sea serpent, like Scotland's very own Loch Ness Monster. Turtle. Rabbit. Penguin. You name it," pictures of various animals flew by in a blur, "that's what it is." She flicked her wand again, the blinds flew open and the projector-screen combo disappeared. "Now, I shall teach you how to save yourself from a Kelpie. Off your bums!" Everyone frantically stood up and went away their chairs, aware of what was about to happen.

The desks and chairs flew to the side with life-threatening speeds after Professor Sylvester's wand did a quick back and forth swoop. The students occupied the centre of the room and she brought out a large metal tank. The students paled when they saw the tank and hoped that that wasn't a captured Kelpie. "Before I open this," their dear professor said, "let's get down to the basic incantation." Her students nodded. "To save yourself from a Kelpie, you have to make it docile and harmless like Professor Schuester is. To do that, you have to use a Placement Charm to put a bridle on it. Repeat after me: _poneria freno_."

"_Poneria freno._" The class intoned.

"That was pathetic! If a Kelpie were to appear in front of you, your entrails will be floating on water in five minutes flat!" Her nose flared. "Again!"

"_Poneria freno_." The class said with more conviction and louder because it's always much better if it's louder. They had to repeat it for several times until she was satisfied with the result.

"Alright, now, for practice." She tapped the tank with her wand and some students in front closed their eyes. Professor Sylvester shook her head in disappointment as the tank fell open and revealed a dummy that looked like a Kelpie in the shape of a horse with a bulrush mane. "The Ministry wouldn't let me have a real Kelpie because of its quadruple X classification. Those idiots, you need to know what you're up against! These sissy dummies won't do you any good – or bad, unfortunately – but you're stuck with it, which means _I'm_ stuck with it. Damn Ministry." She kicked the dummy and it came to life. It threw its head around and started trotting to the centre. She pointed to Cody. "You, skinny, short blond, defend yourself!" He gulped and stepped forward.

The dummy Kelpie trotted towards him menacingly, eyes starting to glow, signifying the "deathly hypnotic stare" and he lifted his wand in a panic. "_Poneria freno!_" In his panicked state, Cody missed the dummy and shot the placement charm on the wall and it ricocheted to a chandelier.

"That was pathetic, five points from Hufflepuff! You're going to _die_, Bone-y!" Professor Sylvester called from the side as the dummy continued to walk to him.

"_Poneria freno!_" It was a direct hit and a bridle appeared on the dummy's head. It began to sit down and looked like a cuddly water demon. Cody sighed with relief.

"Three points to Hufflepuff." She nodded and she waved her wand to make the bridle disappear. The dummy jumped into action once again, this time turning into a large serpent. She pointed to Lauren Zizes. "You're up, Ms. Piggy." She glared at the professor and stepped to the serpent. It hissed and slithered towards her.

"_Poneria freno!_" She yelled and the serpent dodged it quickly with an angry hiss, eyes aglow. The professor clicked her tongue. Lauren glared and her wand followed the serpent's head. "_Poneria freno!_" The spell hit the snake and it coiled down to the floor.

"Three points to Slytherin." Professor Sylvester said and called on the next student. There seemed to be a different animal for each other them and that's very good spellwork on whoever created the dummy. Their teacher continued to berate it after the exercise because it clearly wasn't as dangerous (which was the point) as a real Kelpie and she honestly thought that they would all die if faced with a real one. She swore to "fix" the dummy for the next lesson so that it'll really attack, hypnotise them, and not dawdle on the floor. As soon as they were dismissed they left the room in a rush, hoping to start steeling themselves for the next DADA lesson. The mean-spirited professor put the dummy back into the tank so she could surprise her next class and she waited for them, standing with her arms crossed and glaring at the door.

* * *

><p>It was the night before the competition and the Nightingales had the main stage all to themselves, entrances and exits secured and Silencing Charms were put up. They were doing last minute blocking and rehearsing. The girls' costume constituted with white dresses with black tights and heels. The boys' had black button-ups that were rolled to their elbows with black slacks. As an added quirk, the girl's hair pieces coincided with the colour of the house at Hogwarts and the boy's bowties did the same.<p>

At the last few minutes they were to do a run through of the whole thing. Professor McGonagall watched with approval as the girls took their mash-up of _The Dawn Breaks/Princess_ and sang like they've never sang before. Professor Schue was giving last minute instructions to the ones in charge of special effects – more specifically, Rachel's flying bit during _Defying Gravity._

"So when she does that high F, you slowly bring her down to the centre of the group so that they can perform their last number." He said clearly to the burly wizard named Leon in front of him. He was worried even though he had no reason to since any cheating would result to _immediate_ expulsion and that would just look bad for the school. No witch or wizard would dare jeopardize their education and the clean name of their school.

"I get eet." Leon glared at the fidgety one. "Put her down gently, high F." Then he sighed, he's seen it all after all. Professor Schue was a wizard who got nervous, horribly, horribly nervous and start to think everything will go wrong. "You should not worry. They are very good keeds."

"Thank you." The professor said. "I just can't help but get anxious."

"I understand." He nodded.

The girls finished their set and lied on the platforms as Rachel took centre stage. The music started and she started to sing. Backstage, Kurt bristled once again, glaring at the Slytherin girl who took what was his. He resented hearing her do the song. He hated the fact that it was still affecting him so. He also hated the fact that he thought it was very beautiful. He turned away and walked further back until he can only faintly hear the notes. He'll just come running back when he hears that high F. _That should've been me._

Rachel had everyone captivated from the first few notes. Sure she was annoying and bossy and she basically told her friend that she was better than him but she can sing. Like Kurt, some girls resented that and will never tell her that for the rest of their lives. She didn't care at that moment. The lights were on her and she tried to imagine her audience, staring at her in awe. She shivered slightly, getting Goosebumps as she moved along the stage singing _her_ song. No one could deny how she could fill up the stage and leave the audience completely speechless. This was the life for her; she can feel it in her soul. No one was going to keep her from going after that. The feeling of longing for Kurt and her to be friends again vanished a little bit as she sang, if they were doing a duet, he would ruin the whole dynamic. He would pull her down. This was a solo and she was giving it her all. If losing Kurt meant one step closer to her dream, so be it. She walked briskly to the edge of the stage as the music swelled again while she kept control of her voice.

_Well if that's love_

_It comes at much too high a cost_

She flew of the stage thanks to Leon's magic. As her note progressed higher, she went higher as well, flying above the empty chairs. Her costume billowed under her as she soared. Her smile grew larger as she went to the next lines of the song. She was given three rounds to fly around the theatre before she was brought back to the stage. She spread her arms wide as she was taken to different areas of the place. She practiced keeping her winning smile as she sang the song. And she kept her legs and arms graceful like she was back in ballet class again.

_Kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity_

It was the last leg of the song and she was brought to the middle of the whole theatre. Her arms spread wide as she reached for that small high note. She was dreamily taken back to the stage as she sang her tiny little heart out. She even did a little pirouette as all that was happening. Everyone's eyes were on her, even the boys in the backstage who were supposed to get ready to do the first notes of the next song. She hovered directly over the empty space of her the platforms. She passively dipped down, inch by inch.

_I think I'll try defying gravity _

_And you won't bring me down_

_Bring me down_

During her last note, she landed gracefully on the empty spot, arms raised and stomach clenched up to push the remaining air in her lungs. Once her two feet touched the floor, her arms went down smoothly. A pair of hands clapped for her, followed by a few more, and she just grinned, taking a bow. Kurt rolled his eyes and grumbled a little bit.

"Are you to cry every time she seengs?" Leon asked his assistant. She wiped her eyes and smiled at him, not giving an answer. She sat back down to her work and began playing the music for their final song, _Put Your Dreams Up_.

There was no music at first, just the boys harmonizing in the background, followed by the girls who slowly sat up and stood with Rachel on the platforms. Then the drums came to fill the room with its beat and Lorien began to sing the first lines, bringing the boys out with him. The song was mid-tempo and surprisingly relaxing even with the percussions in the background. It wasn't an entirely choreographed number but Professor Schue found it had more impact if they didn't put the steps into numbers and just let everyone had a fun time – after all, it was their anthem at the moment. Elora took the second part of the verse, walking towards the centre with Lorien, who smiled at her. They wove their way along their choirmates, giving them all smiles of encouragement. There was a quick formation change before the chorus. Logan's voice rose on the chorus and everyone provided back-up. He walked to the middle where Rachel once resided and sang loud and clear. They all got chills at the first note and soft sparks started appearing around the stage, kind of like connecting all of them to one. At the second part of the chorus, Logan was joined by Elora, who twisted away from her place to join him at the centre.

Santana began the bridge of the song; she came from the back and sauntered to the very front of the group. X was there and they locked arms and shared a grin. Ann took Santana's other side, singing her part as well. They locked arms too. They walked forward and finished the bridge. X turned around to back to her place as soon as there was a sudden lull in the music. The choir didn't sing anymore. The five leads just sang the first part of the chorus together – a cappella. Five voices blended magnificently and the lights dimmed and the spotlight showed only them, it was only Santana and Ann at first but the rest of the leads appeared, Logan from the middle, Elora from the right, Lorien from the left. This moment would absolutely _kill_ on tomorrow's competition and hopefully there won't be a dry eye in the theatre during this moment.

The second part surged with light and energy. The sparks were back around them, accentuating the choir surging towards the five with bright smiles. The close friends of the leads took them in their arms and gave them quick side hugs as they went to the edge of the stage. When they got there, they formed a human wall of sound; their voices went to every direction, filling the place with angelic sound.

Kurt felt someone hold his hand. He turned his head to the side and saw Brittany smiling at him as he sang. She saw him run away when Rachel started her song and this was the only moment in the whole set she was near enough to do this comforting gesture for him. He realized that and he nodded, indicating his thanks.

Even though it was just a choir number and only five were featured, all the others felt elated. They were part of this beautiful sound and they were helping it continue. They appreciated that they got to sing and that they were sharing this to the world. Even Rachel, who still thought she should've gotten more parts, enjoyed the fact that the choir was very solid when it came to back-up and she actually found it slightly enjoyable though she would much rather be up front. The final note was struck and the sparks turned into quiet fireworks and showered down on them. There was applause from everyone, even their headmistress.

"Excellent, Nightingales! Truly excellent!" Professor Schue announced, still clapping. "We're going to _win_ this year!"

"We love singing!" Lorien called.

"And we love gold!" The rest of the choir cheered. "Go Nightingales!" They all fell into the group hug perpetuated by Brittany. Even Rachel was brought into it; people even commended her for her amazing solo. Everyone patted each other on the back on a job well done and they all went backstage to get out of their costumes and back to their cottages for a goodnight's sleep. Tomorrow was a really big day for them.

* * *

><p>They did the number again over breakfast when they came back to Hogwarts. It was a surprise to the students and they were immediately injected with energy. They cheered suddenly and it swelled up as soon as Lorien entered, carrying a gigantic golden trophy signifying their first place win at the competition. A few students ran to the stage to hug their friends and it didn't really matter, hugs were important. Derek, Sofie, and Reed pushed themselves to the front and they first saw Brittany who waved at them eagerly. Reed was the first to go into the fray and grabbed the blonde into a big hug and congratulated her. Derek and Sofie did the same. They wove through different members to reach Kurt and then Rachel. They still didn't make amends after their sensational win and it just seemed a little awkward when Brittany suggested a group hug.<p>

The student body of Hogwarts cheered enthusiastically at the end of the song. "Alright, settle down, settle down." Professor McGonagall said when she reached her podium. Everyone began walking to their houses again, talking animatedly. "Congratulations, Nightingales for winning at the Ninth Annual Interwizarding School Choir Competition." Everyone cheered again and that earned a small smile from their headmistress. "So far we've gotten three – four now – four first place trophies and I'm very, very proud of you. As a reward, I'm giving all your houses five hundred points." The students roared with elation and started patting their house Nightingales on the back. It was all too much for one day. "_And_ all classes today will be _cancelled_." They all lost it and began cheering maniacally. Professor McGonagall, pleased with the reaction she got, turned around and nodded to her teachers. "Let them be today and I don't know about you but I wish to eat a good grease infused breakfast."

* * *

><p>Due to the nature of the situation, Sofie and the boys decided it was best to separate for the day of cancelled classes. She'd take Brittany and Rachel for most of the morning up until tea time while they would take Kurt during the same time. Then they would switch. It was a healthy compromise. Sofie waited in the dungeons after she dragged Brittany with her. Derek and Reed were waiting at the portrait hole at the Gryffindor tower, speaking amiably with the Fat Lady. Kurt and Rachel arrived with smiles on their faces, still happy about winning first.<p>

"Hey girlfriends!" Rachel said with a huge grin.

"Please don't say that again." Sofie laughed and threw an arm around her friend.

* * *

><p>"Hey, there's our winner!" Derek announced, laughing a little bit. Kurt did a low bow, smiling broadly. Reed shook his hand and then pulled him towards the corridor.<p>

"I think this requires a visit to the Room of Requirement's extensive collection of vintage clothes." Reed sang and the other two boys just laughed. They walked to the seventh floor and the Room was unoccupied as always. When they entered, they immediately jumped in at the clothes. So that they won't get lost, they shot sparks in the air (blue, red, and yellow) that would follow them around as they walked. Kurt and Reed enjoyed the clothing version of the Room. A lot of vintage clothes littered the place and luckily enough most of them fit though some would need some minor readjusting. Derek just liked the place because Kurt and Reed get really animated about it. Suddenly, he came across a rack full of coats. He rifled through one by one as he listened to Kurt and Reed on the other side.

"Wicked!" Reed announced. "It's an original fedora!" Then he took three paces to the left and bumped into a mannequin, only this mannequin wasn't naked. "Merlin's beard," he touched the surface, "and it's in perfect condition!" He breathed. It was complete Giorgio Armani, black and white pinstripe suit and if he could bring this home with him, his mum would be able to adjust it to his size.

"What is it?" Kurt asked form the other side of the stack.

Reed placed the fedora on the top of the mannequin and gaped in awe. "It's perfect." Derek snorted as he rifled through the coats. Reed was already thinking of all the places he could wear this thing in, and the shoes he could wear it with.

"What is it?" Kurt appeared from the other side. He narrowed his eyes at the mannequin but Reed blocked it from his view. "Let me see!" He started stalking towards the Ravenclaw.

"It's mine you can't have it!" Reed said taking his wand out.

"Don't make me hurt you, Van Kamp!" Kurt sneered. "I just want to see it."

"I swear Kurt, if you so much think of taking it away from me; I'll duel to the death!"

"Ladies, please, can we be civil about this?" Derek called out, chuckling a little bit. As his fashion savvy friends squabbled on the other side, Derek was going through some coats until suddenly he found one. It was a very modest grey double-breasted coffee coat. He took it out of the rack and sighed deeply. _Of course it won't fit me._ He ran his fingers down the buttons and even though it looked a little over five years old and a bit dusty, it was the perfect coat. He squeezed the fabric and it was so soft. He wanted to take it with him but he couldn't wear it. It would be his but it would just rot in his closet because he can't use it. His face twisted with frustration. _Yes. I will._ He thought to himself and he took it out of the hanger. He even found a grey hat that would go well with the coat – he took that too. When he turned the corner and saw Kurt and Reed surveying the suit he suddenly felt a bit of resentment. _Damn them and their skinny figures._ Then he chastised himself. With Kurt and Rachel fighting right now, he couldn't afford to have a jealous fit. He sucked in a breath and smiled, throwing his feelings to the back of his mind. "Hey, what's that?"

* * *

><p>The girls walked around Hogwarts aimlessly. They talked about Beauxbatons, the songs they did, and, most importantly, Elias LeNendre. Sofie practically swooned (Brittany caught her) when Rachel mentioned that he sang a solo, in French, at the start of the Sirens' set. Brittany agreed wholeheartedly. "He sings like a <em>dream<em>. I couldn't understand anything but it was really beautiful." She pressed her hands on her chest and sighed as they walked out to the courtyard. "If you didn't claim him, I would."

"Don't get any ideas, Pierce." Sofie laughed and poked Brittany's side. She screamed out a giggle and lithely dodged a second poke.

"I would never." She said. Rachel and Sofie shared a look and burst out laughing, leaving a confused Brittany at their wake. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I – we just remembered something." Rachel said in a pathetic attempt to cover up. Brittany was about to ask about it again but before she could, Sofie found the perfect distraction.

"Hi, Quinn!" Sofie waved frantically, still smiling and a chuckle was bubbling in her stomach. Quinn smiled but it looked a little pained and before she could ask, another distraction came along in the form of a Gryffindor named Puck.

"Babe, _babe_, don't get mad at me!" He said in a begging voice. Rachel and Brittany's eyebrows shot up. They didn't know Puck and Quinn were dating. Quinn stopped walking but kept her steely gaze towards the school. "It's not my fault Rosie has a bit of aversion to you." He added, almost pleadingly.

"A _bit_?" She whirled around. "Your owl bit my hand _multiple times_!" To prove a point, she raised her left hand, showing a few bloody scars. Aside from Sofie, Rachel, and Brittany, other students stopped to watch the scene. One of those students was Jesse St. James, who was smirking smugly, amused by Quinn's pain. _See, that wouldn't have happened if you agreed to go out with me. And yet you chose the mohawked idiot._ "Not to mention she screeches unpleasantly while I'm around her." Quinn grumbled.

"Look," Puck said, "I'll have her checked or something." He grabbed Quinn's hand and led her to Hogwarts. Beside herself, Rachel felt a small pang of jealousy that came out of nowhere from seeing that small action. She may have a bit of a crush on the Gryffindor but she found it so inconsequential that she didn't think much of it – until now that is. "But before that, let's get you to the Hospital Wing to get that hand fixed." Quinn huffed indignantly but she followed him anyway.

Jesse did the same and his smirk turned into a sneer. "C'mon." He practically growled and his friends followed immediately.

"It's okay, mate." One of his friends, Paolo Van Der Woodsen, said, patting him on the back. "You'll find someone better."

Jesse shrugged off his friend's hand and sneered. "Oh, fuck off."

"Just trying to be nice." Paolo said, raising his hands in defence.

"I didn't know Quinn and Noah were dating." Rachel said, trying to sound a little nonchalant. She was a little confused as to why she was feeling that tiny drop of jealousy. She quickly concluded to herself that she had a small crush and it would probably go away in the following years.

"Well, Quinn's told me about Puck from time to time, I guess it would've happened soon enough." Sofie shrugged but then realized something. "How did you know his name is Noah?"

Rachel's mouth went dry and she quickly thought of a decent cover up. "I –" _Dear Brain, work with me! Love, Rachel_ "I – I heard Santana talk about him at choir practice. They're friends, you know." She found that acceptably believable and so did Sofie (though her suspicious were quelled just for that moment). Rachel sighed in relief that her unimportant crush wasn't blown out of proportion. That's just what it was a momentary crush on someone she found a little attractive when she bumped into him last year and he called her tiny. Or short. She can't really remember.

"Can I see your pictures at Beauxbatons?" Sofie asked and Brittany started pulling one out from her robes. This opened new subjects and the thoughts of Noah Puckerman flew from Rachel's thoughts and were put aside like before, only to be brought up during times she saw him. "Dear sweet Potter, that palace is _très beau_! Olivia wasn't exaggerating when she said it's the best castle ever." Sofie huffed. "Bloody cousin." She muttered. Rachel laughed.

"Aw, I missed you, Sofie." She said.

Sofie smiled. "I missed you too, mate."

"I'm going to hug you now." The brunette giggled and hugged her friend tightly. Brittany smiled and joined in the hug.

* * *

><p>Time passed quickly and it was suddenly time to go home for the holidays. This year, everyone was going home and the train ride back was horribly awkward to begin with. They hadn't thought about who they were going to sit with – Rachel or Kurt. But Kurt, being the more gracious of the two (and definitely the one with more friends) let them sit with Rachel while he would ride with his roommates. It would be much more chaotic with Evan and Ethan around (especially since they started calling themselves the Tweedles, calling him Alice, and calling Julian Cheshire Cat. "We haven't decided what to call Shane yet" thanks to Derek's contribution to their Muggle Studies class) but his pride wouldn't let him step down and talk to Rachel – <em>she<em> has to do that. Back in a different compartment, Rachel thought the same. Kurt had to come clean and apologize for hurting her feelings. With this kind of situation, no one would win. Only Brittany was the only real optimist among the six of them. Once the train stopped at the station, they separated for the holidays.

It was always so different for the six of them.

Sofie was in Paris once again, spending time with various Salvadairs, visiting the vast array of restaurants (wizarding and muggle alike) and shopping in diverse selection of stores Paris could offer. Then there were the enjoyable dinners and the usual sites to visit. There was a bit of ogling on the attractive French male form which she will share with her cousin Olivia and then she will she share with her mates in the form of letter. But then on Christmas day she would send them a post card. She decided that she was going to do that year in and year out from then on. She took a picture of snow falling with the Eiffel Tower in the background and she had them developed immediately. She couldn't image what pictures were like in the muggle world. How could they _live_ with those unmoving and boring things? She shook her head and wrote on the back, wishing them all a happy Christmas (and in Rachel's case, happy Hanukkah) ending it with "with love from Paris. XOXO, Sofie" with her neat-messy writing. Then she stuffed them into envelopes. She grinned and handed the postcards to her aunt's owl. She watched as the owl flew away in the night sky. She felt a surge of satisfaction and she imagined them opening the envelopes, making her smile.

"Sofie, promenons-nous dans la Seine!" Olivia said upon opening the door of their grandmother's room.

"J'arrive." Sofie replied, turning on her heel, picking her camera off the window sill, and skipping out the room. The two cousins passed by the den where most of the adults were already sharing stories and getting slightly inebriated. Right at the door stood her two brothers and a few of their older cousins. Midas opened the door when he saw Sofie and Olivia coming down the hall and the winter wind filled the house immediately. They all bundled up with their coats and scarves before escaping into the night to the Seine very much like they have Christmas after Christmas.

* * *

><p>Brittany smiled when she received her postcard. She liked watching the snow falling lazily in front of the Eiffel Tower. She was up in her room, with the door locked. Outside, cousins were running amok, loud and clear. And since this was a wizarding letter, she couldn't afford to let them see it. Someone was knocking on the door, her cousin Dev, demanding her to open it. She just rolled her eyes and continued watching the picture. It was taken at dusk, some lights were flickering on the Tower and it was a sight to see for Brittany since she hasn't seen the Eiffel Tower before. Soon enough, her mother was knocking on her door, asking her to come down for the Christmas brunch and opening of presents. She quickly jumped up and told her mum that she was going to be out in a minute. She rushed to pull her desk chair to her closet and climbed on top of it. She opened the top shelf to reveal all the magical souvenirs she's collected over the years. In the middle was a picture of all six of them tapped to the wood, right next to it was a picture of her practicing a spell before the exams. She propped the picture of the Tower on the left side of the shelf and closed it again. After she put the chair back in place and opened the door she found Dev leaned on the doorframe with a surly expression.<p>

"Why won't you let me in?" She asked indignantly.

"I'm writing in my diary." Brittany retorted. That reply was perpetuated by Sofie herself when Brittany griped about what to say when she locked her doors.

"Ooh." Dev smiled. "Can I read? We're cousins after all."

Brittany hesitated a little bit but then she shook her head. "Nope. It's a diary for a reason, Dev." Her cousin raised her eyebrows; she didn't think Brittany was smart enough to think of that answer.

"C'mon, Brit, we're cousins!" She tried again, tugging on her arm.

"No, Dev. It's private. You know what private is right? Because _I_ know what private is." Brittany smirked at the bemused expression on her cousin's face and she merrily went down the stairs, greeting everyone a hearty "merry Christmas" once again.

* * *

><p><em>Happy holidays, son. I'm sorry I couldn't come, you know how busy I am. I wish you all the best. Enjoy this new record your step brother is releasing in January. –Dad<em>

Reed sighed when he read the note attached to the beautifully wrapped record in his hand. The handwriting was obviously someone else's but he knew that these were his dad's words. Winston Davis hasn't been around for a while now. It wasn't always clear to him why they split up. Then again, whenever he asked his mum she would always say "when you're older". It got a little too tedious when he repeated it year after year so he just dropped it and decided that he would find out himself soon enough. Winston was there on the first day of Hogwarts and the days before it but after that he was gone again. It's always been him and his mum ever since but Winston always sent gifts during birthdays and holidays though sometimes Reed found himself wishing that he would arrive. It was quiet as always in the Van Kamp manor and he decided to open the new record. His stepbrother, Clark Sawyer, was in a band called Haven. They haven't seen each other in person yet but they always wrote to each other. In fact, his gift was already opened to reveal new brown brogues with a long piece of parchment attacked to it, next to it was Sofie's postcard. He placed the record on his gramophone and began playing it loud. The walls were soundproof anyway. As he read Clark's letter, there was a quick knock on the door. "Come in!" He said.

Junie entered with her hands clasped behind her back. "Merry Christmas, Master Reed."

He smiled "Merry Christmas, Junie."

"Madam Van Kamp is already downstairs for your Christmas brunch." The elf said. "She asked me to call you."

Reed sat up and stopped the playing record. "Will you be eating with us, Junie?" He asked as he straightened his bed clothes, eating with his mum was almost always a formal type of meal. The difference was that she smiled more and talked to him more. Sometimes he liked Christmas because of his mother's sudden showing of affection.

"As always, Master Reed." She smiled and opened the door wider. "After you."

"Thank you, Junie." And with that, they walked downstairs where his mother was sitting by the table, a goblet of wine in her hand. She smiled and greeted the two before they all sat around the table and ate silently for the first few minutes before Hilde began asking Reed about his life. In turn, Reed would ask her. Junie just enjoyed eating with her masters, seeing it as a very high privilege for a house elf like her.

* * *

><p>A few miles south of Van Kamp Manor stood the Breaker Residence. The night left his parents dead tired and hung over. Derek, who was still thirteen, wasn't allowed to drink more than a sip of wine (and vodka but his father specifically told him not to tell his mother) and therefore was awake long before his parents were. It's not like he didn't have fun with his cousins last night but they were all made to go home early. The house was clean now, probably a last stitch attempt by some of his mum's relatives. Derek played soft, classical music around the house using the speakers his father got put in over his stay in Hogwarts so he wouldn't be bored and his parents won't be awakened. Junie was the Van Kamp's so he was forced to make his own tea. The plus side of being alone that Christmas morning was that his mum wasn't going to make a delicious breakfast that he would be compelled to eat and therefore wouldn't gain weight. He opened the fridge and bit his lower lip. Cookies and cakes and other goodies filled the thing and he told himself not to eat any of them. Before he could regret anything, he grabbed an apple and closed the door. The bright red apple glistened in the cold winter sun and he walked over to the sink to wash it. At the same time, the tea started to bubble in the water heater. He turned it off and filled a mug near the brim. He took some milk and poured a little into it then added four teaspoons of sugar. He sat down and placed the apple and tea on the table. "Merry Christmas, Derek." He whispered and bit into the apple. Somewhere during Beethoven's <em>Adagio Molto E Cantabile<em> there was a scratch on the kitchen window. He turned his head to see a big barn owl pecking on the window. He bit down on the apple and placed it on the table. He hurriedly took some owl food from the cupboard (for times like this) and opened the window. "Hey there. What have you got for me?" The owl dropped the letter on the counter and he offered it some food. The owl hooted happily and started slowly pecking on Derek's hand. _To Derek_. It said in Sofie's handwriting and he started opening it with one hand.

* * *

><p>"Good morning, love." Rachel smiled as Daddy L kissed her forehead that morning. "It's time to open your gifts." She opened her eyes and grabbed her fathers into a big hug and greeted them a happy Hanukkah and a merry Christmas. They weren't really deeply rooted Jews and at some point during Rachel's childhood, Christmas and Hanukkah stuck together. She figured that made them unique from every family in a hundred mile radius and she was very happy about that. They had a little get together last night in London with Daddy V's family where it was all Jewish all the time and she actually found it enjoyable that year. They even let her sing a few songs even <em>Defying Gravity<em> that her fathers proudly bragged about. Their daughter, their perfect little daughter. But at the mention of this, Rachel felt a little sad. _Some daughter I am. I alienated one of my closest friends._ All she really wanted for Christmas was for her and Kurt to be friends again. She was seeing the error of her ways, especially now that it's affecting the others. But she's far too frightened that Kurt wouldn't want to hear any of it – that the friendship was indeed over until the end of time. She didn't want to tell her dads, who were pulling her sleepy body down the stairs and to the plethora of presents they've readied for her. She wanted to keep that aura that said, "I may be a diva but I've got my real friends with me" but she lost one and she's started to think that if she doesn't stop now, she'll lose everyone, even Brittany and Derek, who were the most tolerant.

"This also came before we woke you up." Daddy V announced, giving her Sofie's envelope. "Do you want to open that one first?"

Rachel smiled, excited for Sofie's letter. "Definitely." She opened it in a very genteel manner and slipped the postcard through the ripped top. She held up the astonishing picture of Paris in the winter. She read the back. "Aww, this is really nice. Can we frame it? In a way I can see the back too?" She handed the picture to Daddy V and Daddy L leaned on him, surveying the picture.

"Sofie took this?" Daddy L asked.

"I'm quite sure she did." Rachel answered, picking a new present from the pile.

"Well she's really good." He said, handing it back to her.

"I'll be sure to tell her that."

* * *

><p>It was Christmas afternoon with the Hudson-Hummels. Instead of buying them Christmas presents by himself, Burt decided it would be better if they just went to the mall and let them pick it out. Kurt thought it was the best idea in the world. And since they were well-versed in the muggle world, it was much easier for them than most wizarding families. They woke up with Burt giving them money with a ribbon securing them together. He told them, "I would buy you a Christmas gift myself but I know I'd get it wrong so I'm giving you money to buy your own." They <em>did<em> notice the missing awkward shifting that Burt did while he was trying to hide their gifts because they all always did it in the last minute (except Kurt who extensively planned his gifts as soon as his father would announce that they would be going home for the holidays). At this time, they would usually just be lying around in the house, doing nothing except eat Carole's holiday cookies. Kurt was very happy with the change of scenery. That picture Sofie sent him made him want to stretch his legs and walk. Another hour seeing Finn strutting in the house in his ugly sweater and boxers would surely drive him bonkers. At the mall, he pointed out various clothes out to Carole, telling how it would look good with her eyes or her hair or it would complement her skin tone. Finn kept asking time and time again if he could go to the arcade. Carole, after half an hour of griping, let her son go with Burt. They all decided to meet at the entrance at four-thirty. Kurt and Finn smiled gratefully at their mother. Finn couldn't handle any more of those clothes and Kurt couldn't handle his incessant but surprisingly subtle (though still annoying) complaints. "Have you thought about what you're going to do after Hogwarts, love?" Carole asked a few minutes after Burt and Finn left.

Kurt looked up at her as he looked through the rack of cardigans, looking for something that wasn't Christmas themed. "Well… actually, yeah. I've been tossing around potioneer or go to theatre school with –" _Rachel_ he was about to say but then he remember that they weren't speaking to each other and he stuck his chin out, pushing the rush of sadness away. Before his mum noticed the hesitation, he caught himself. "Or go to theatre school. Like the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts."

Carole smiled. "Well, you've got four more years to decide, two if you want to include that interview concerning your O.W.L.'s."

"What do you think I should take?" Kurt asked and took out a dark blue cardigan. "Also, what do you think?" He added, placing the cardigan against his body.

She chuckled and approved the cardigan then proceeded to the other question. "I _think_ you should take what you think is good for you. I don't want to rush you into anything. If you feel like potioneering, go potioneer. If you want to go to that dramatic arts school, you go to that school." She smiled and reached down to squeeze his fingers. She's practically raised Kurt but she couldn't help but quailing in the shadow of his biological mother. She always tried her best but she always felt like she couldn't compare. Kurt squeezed back, reassuring her a little and they shared a smile.

"Thanks, Mum." But it's times like these that she actually thought that she was doing a good job.

"No problem, darling." She laughed. "At least _you_ have a plan. I can't say the same about your brother. I honestly think all he's got in his head is Quidditch."

It was always so different for the six of them. But somehow it was the same. They were with their families. They wished that their friends were with them. They wished that they would be complete once again (even Kurt and Rachel did). They actually had a fun time. And unlike muggle students, they counted down to the days they had to go back to Hogwarts because that's where friends converge. They couldn't wait to come back.

* * *

><p>Classes started regularly at the turn of the year. After a few days, everyone got back to the regular school routine. Waking up earlier for class. Actually going <em>to<em> class. Meals at the Great Hall. Seeing their friends (and enemies) on a day to day basis. Earning points. Losing points. Professors everywhere. Within that normalcy, Kurt and Rachel still hadn't made up and have tried their best to avoid each other everywhere. The other four had to find a way to properly maneuver between the two and found it exceedingly difficult at first. Aside from that, everything was fairly normal.

"_Dearest Derek,_" said the envelope with a hefty looking parcel one morning during breakfast on the Hufflepuff table. Derek took this quick distraction to sneak some eggs onto Cody's plate before picking the letter up. "Ah, the weekly book delivery from Derek's mum." Terry announced happily. "This looks bigger than last week's."

"I figure." Derek said, ripping the letter open. "Mum and Dad mentioned something about a huge shipment from America." He read the letter quickly while his fingers danced on the string holding the parcel together. "Says here that Candace – an employee at the bookstore – picked out the books for me this week because Mum was busy with some business-y things." He said casually and pulled on the string. The wrapping fell apart easily and there were about seven books in the stack. Five were hardcover books while the other two weren't. On the very top was a quaint little book with a very simple design up front. Everyone around Derek looked at the book with raised eyebrows. He acted nonchalant and picked the book up. _Boy Meets Boy_ it said loud and clear. Derek blushed a little bit. He caught himself staring at the book and he immediately flipped it over to check the back. He was still in shock. Had his mother looked into the parcel? How did Candace know? What was everyone going to think of him now? Brittany cast him a sidelong glance. Then he picked up the other book that was once below _Boy Meets Boy_. He looked at the back of it as well, hoping to make the looks go away. "Hmm." He added thoughtfully and soon everyone was back to normal. He was relieved that no one began asking questions or reacting in any way. He went back to reading the overview of the surprise book and felt a little intrigue. It said 2003 on the back and he couldn't believe that he let this book get pass him all these years.

"Do you want help bringing them back to Hufflepuff before class?" Justin offered after he finished his breakfast. "There's still some time."

Derek was surprised at the offer since he was sure that he and Justin weren't the closest roommates in the world and he looked at Brittany who was just as surprised since she was about to ask the same thing (she quietly wondered if Justin read her mind). Terry and Cody looked at Justin and nodded, something Derek and Brittany didn't notice. "Alright." Derek picked up a few of his books and Justin did the same. They set out to Hufflepuff house. They were quiet most of the walk but since he was tasked with this conversation, Justin had to power through. He didn't know why they asked him to do it and always repeating "it's because you're the nicest" and "since you're not really buddies, it'd _mean_ so much more". While Justin was looking for an easy way to say "hey, so are you gay? Terry, Cody, and I have been wondering and I just wanted to ask you" in a gentle way, Derek was inwardly panicking. Telling himself "no they don't hate you" but at the same time thinking "yes they do and Justin's going to hurt you". It was horrible.

"Derek," Justin began, "we've been roommates for a while now and we've been thinking," he sighed. "Are you gay?" Derek's head turned to him, eyes wide open like a deer that was about to get hit by a truck. Justin quickly back pedalled. "Well, because, you know, we're totally okay with that. But if you're not then you're not. But if you are, then you are. Terry, Cody, and I are still gonna be, like, your mates if you are. You know, so, uh, are you?" _Wow, this is awkward_. The blond thought and looked down at the books.

"Yeah. I am." Derek answered and he figured it was actually really nice to say it to other people.

"You are?" Justin turned his head to Derek again. The brunet nodded. "You are! Great, so now we'll begin to continue treating you normally."

Derek chortled. "That sentence sounded a bit weird."

"I think I got some time thing jumbled around." Justin laughed lightly and clasped a hand on Derek's shoulder. "Also, if anyone's giving you a hard time, the three of us will kick his arse." It was Derek's turn to laugh.

"What if it's a girl?" He said, smiling.

"Well, you've got Brittany and Sofie and Rachel for that." He replied. "See, I thought about it."

"Congratulations." Derek laughed and sobered up a few seconds afterwards. "Why don't we talk this much, Jus?"

His roommate shrugged. "I guess we never had anything to say to each other. But that doesn't mean we aren't mates, yeah?"

"Yeah." Derek smiled at Justin. Coming out was surprisingly easier than he thought it was. What was he thinking? He was in Hufflepuff after all, he shouldn't be afraid of his own house. They'd all give him a hug and treat him like any other (though there would probably be some exceptions). If he was going to come out, he'd start with the Puffs before working his way to the rest of Hogwarts. If anyone would ask, he'd answer honestly. Justin proved that people he didn't really know would be okay with him. He wasn't some sort of freak of nature that his brain occasionally told him he was.

"What?" Justin asked, snapping Derek from his quick daze.

Derek shook his head. "Nothing. Thanks, Justin."

"No problem." And that day, Derek decided to start reading _Boy Meets Boy_ with excitement. It would be the first time he would read something with gay as the main part of it, completely unaware and unthinking of the consequences since he was filled with optimism with Justin, Cody, and Terry's reactions. Not everyone can be as accepting as they were and it was only a matter of time before someone else (someone whose name probably started with an A and probably ended with an S) would notice the book. Say, after Transfiguration class?

* * *

><p>It was the last subject of the week, Transfiguration. Everyone was already talking about their plans for tomorrow's Hogsmeade visit once Professor Button dismissed her class. Kurt, Brittany, and Derek were about to reach the door when she said, "Ms. Pierce, may I have a word with you?" Brittany groaned, she had hoped that her somewhat disastrous Transfiguration exercise would get her in trouble.<p>

"Bugger." She whispered.

"Do you want us to wait for you?" Kurt asked.

Brittany shook her head. "I think this is gonna take some time. Go ahead." They waved goodbye and she turned around, steeling herself. As her friends walked out of the room, she walked deeper into it. Professor Button's shiny, wavy, brown hair fell down her shoulders. She leaned on her desk, smiling ruefully at her student. Brittany looked up to meet the teacher's gaze. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, not really." She answered. She waved her wand and a chair appeared behind Brittany. "Sit, this is going to take some time." The Hufflepuff obeyed and Professor Button did the same. "Now, Ms. Pierce, it has come to my attention that you haven't been performing very well in class. Actually you've been performing very badly. Is there something wrong?"

Brittany looked down on her lap, thinking about it. Her friends had tried tutoring her in the subject but they've been caught up with teaching her in Potions or Defence – not to mention either Rachel or Kurt wouldn't be there – that they couldn't really delve into Transfiguration that much. She bit her lip nervously. "I just find Transfiguration hard, Professor."

Her professor nodded and thought about it for a moment before deciding _what the hell_? "Brittany," she began in the kind voice that made children look up in wonder, "since that is the case, I'd be happy to tutor you."

Brittany smiled with disbelief. "What? You are? You will?" She wanted to hug her Transfiguration professor.

"Yes." Professor Button said. "Let's discuss the times and then you may go."

* * *

><p>Outside, Kurt and Derek were walking down the corridor near the courtyard filled with snow. Kurt asked about the book Derek was reading. The Hufflepuff was animatedly talking about it that he might as well be telling Kurt the story. The Gryffindor was listening too, raptly even. When the thought of actually borrowing the book came to his head, something else came to his head: a snowball. The Tweedles erupted in laughter as Kurt slowly reached up to his hair and wiped the snow off. "Hello, Alice!" They called out.<p>

"Derek, I will resent you forever because you let them read Alice in Wonderland." Kurt said stiffly. "May I?"

"Go on, I'll just read." Derek laughed and Kurt angrily went after his roommates. They cackled loudly when they saw him walking out to the courtyard and muttered a spell that caused the snowballs to take form as he stalked toward the twins.

"That's cheating Alice!" Evan said, stilling grinning broadly, enjoying the challenge. As soon as he said it, a snowball hurtled towards him. He ducked before it made contact. His brother threw a snowball at Kurt and he made it melt with hot air. It was very fine spellwork but that spelled bad news to the Tweedles. As they dived down into their little snow for to begin making balls out of snow, Kurt threw more balls at them. They then remembered their wands and began magically creating the balls. At the same time, Derek watched with a slight smile on his face and once that he was sure that Kurt was going to (probably) win he cracked open his book and continued where he left off, placing his bookmark behind his ear. He didn't even get through two pages when the book was whisked away from his grasp.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, confused as to where his book went. He whirled around to see Amos and a couple of his friends. Amos was dangling he book in the air and Derek glared even though he was feeling distressed. "Give it back!" He lunged for it and the Ravenclaw threw it to one of his friends, who laughed. Derek groaned and turned around to give it another go but the book soared above his head and to another person.

"You're moving too slow, tubby. You can do better than that. Move your fat arse!" Amos taunted as his friends laughed. Derek fumed with anger as he lurched and lunged only to come short and having someone laugh in his face. He never knew there were so many synonyms of "fat". His bookmark already fell and one of Amos's friends took it and put it behind his ear too. Surely people would see this and someone would stop them but no one did. Did they actually think the four of them were having fun? This was fun for them, not for him. There weren't many people outside since it was very much winter and they just wanted to be in their common rooms and by the fire, not in the cold air. Derek was out of luck. He would've just walked away in a huff if it was anything else but it was a book – _his_ book – and he was going to get it back safe and sound.

"Give it back!" He shouted angrily, finally earning looks of concern from other students.

"Why?" Amos asked once it landed in his hands, he looked down at it and began laugh. "It's a fag book!" He announced. "It's a fag book, mates! The Puff's a fag." Derek clenched his jaw and lunged for the book again, only to be thwarted again. And with that realization in the way they started pushing him around, calling him all these names that he didn't want to remember. People were starting to get anxious and someone went to call a teacher.

"Just give the bloody book back!" Derek said, desperately now. With everyone looking and paying attention, he might as have announced during dinner that he was gay – that would've been better of course. It would've been his own decision but this, the taunting, the ridiculing, the word "fag" wasn't what he wanted to happen when he decided to tell the world.

"Ooh." Amos said. "Getting feisty, I see. What are you gonna do?" He threw the book to one of his friends. "You gonna throw pixie dust at us?" They roared with laughter. Just before Derek was to burst into tears of frustration and anger, hoping that it would elicit some sympathy, Brittany came running.

"Hey!" She said in a tone that she didn't usually use. "Leave him alone!"

"What? Like an idiot Puff like you could do anything about it." One of Amos's friends laughed and whipped out his wand to make her trip down to the floor. He placed her in a full body-bind and she went completely rigid on the floor.

"Brit!" Derek shouted but then he was shoved by the shoulder.

"Oh no you don't, cocksucker. We're not done here yet." Amos smiled maliciously and Derek just glared. "So, tell me," he asked as he dangled the book above Derek's head again, "what's gay sex like?"

Derek hissed in a breath and just glared again. "Oh, did you forget what it's like then?" That wiped off the smile on Amos's face, but that spelled out something unfortunate for Derek.

"What did you say?" The Ravenclaw asked lividly.

Derek screamed at himself. _Why did you say that? Now you'll die!_ He closed his eyes, wishing that they'll just disappear, when he heard something went going _splat_ in front of him. There was a couple of spells shouted behind him and there was the sound of two bodies hitting the floor. His eyes flew open to reveal Kurt standing in front of him, wand at the ready. He turned around to see Rachel with her wand ready as well; she was breathless like she ran to get there, glaring at Amos.

Amos was glowering at Kurt, his brown hair was still covered with Kurt's snowball and his brown eyes blazed with anger. Derek didn't think he noticed the wand pointed in front of him. He was still a little afraid since Amos towered over them by a good several inches and that he was going to snap their wands. "Well, well," he said through gritted teeth, "are you the boyfriend?"

Kurt bit his lower lip and his face grew red. But he jutted his chin out and said, "Give the book back."

"What if I don't want to?" Amos said, taking his wand out and pointing it at the book.

"I don't think he said it clear enough," Rachel said angrily, still pointing her wand, "give the bloody book back to our friend. And apologize."

"And what? Are you going to peck on me with your massive _schnoz_?" Amos smirked with satisfaction when he saw the Slytherin look hurt. "Look at you two; you could've done so much better with Fatty McManboobs and Dumbarse Blonde over there." He cocked his head to Brittany's unmoving form. The two Hufflepuffs heard and they immediately felt the sting. Derek even looked down at his chest, resisting the urge to cup the sagging areas. "Puffs don't have _anything_ on the other houses. Trade up. Even if you look like you're a fag," he said to Kurt and then he turned to Rachel, "and if you do need a new face."

Kurt and Rachel looked at each other for the first time in months and Amos felt high and mighty for a little bit. Enjoying the effect of his words on these inferior students. They both nodded at each other and pointed their wands higher. "Give the bloody book." Kurt said.

Amos laughed and stabbed the wand at the book. "_Incen –_" Derek whimpered but something slammed into the Ravenclaw. He breathed out; it was his prefect, Jenkin, looking angrier that he's ever seen him. His face was contorted into a grimace as supposed to his cheery smile.

"That's enough, Bray." The prefect said, holding Amos against the wall. "Drop the wand and the book." The two boys glared at each other for a few seconds before Amos dropped both items on the floor. Derek rushed to grab the book and returned the bookmark to its rightful place. Sofie and Reed ran towards them from the same direction as Rachel came, they were panting deeply. Sofie was holding her side while Reed rested on his knees. He was sporting a gash on his cheek from where he tripped when they ran as soon as they heard what was happening.

"Are you –" Sofie sucked in a huge breath. "Blimey, Rachel runs fast. Are you okay, Dere?"

"Yeah." Derek said. _As okay as I'll ever be. _ He thought but he didn't add that. A few older Hufflepuffs came with Professor Weadell who looked about as winded as Sofie and Reed. The Hufflepuffs took the bind away from Brittany and she immediately sat up and ran to give Derek a hug. They took the unconscious Ravenclaws away with Amos who Professor Weadell was reprimanding and hoped that the headmistress would actually go easy on them. Everyone was awkwardly hanging in the corridor where the six friends were talking. They noticed and decided to go to the Room of Requirement.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here faster." Brittany said as they walked.

"It's okay, Brit." Derek smiled a small smile and squeezed her hand. "You did the best you could. Don't beat yourself about it."

"At least Kurt and Rachel were there to save you!" She said brightly and moved to throw her arms on Rachel and then on Kurt. "You're like Derek's heroes!" The two estranged friends smiled with a bit of pride and glanced at each other, apologies at the tip of their tongues. Their friends were beginning to smile, sensing a reunion. No one said anything as they turned the corridor towards the marble staircase.

"I suppose we are." Rachel nodded.

"Yeah." Kurt smiled. "I'm sorry for blowing up on you."

"I'm sorry for being a controlling, selfish, big-headed diva." She replied. Brittany squealed, pulling them into a tighter hug and Sofie placed two hands on her chest, going, "aw". The two laughed and Kurt raised his hand.

"Friends?" He asked.

Rachel took his hand and shook it. "Friends."

Their friends cheered happily and this made Derek almost forget what happened a few minutes ago. "I think this calls for a celebration." He said. "To the kitchen!"

"To the kitchen!" His friends agreed in unison and they went down the stairs instead of up.

* * *

><p>With their friendship complete and happy again, Amos and his friends facing detention for the rest of the school year (as well as losing Ravenclaw all of its points, earning their alienation from the house), and Professor McGonagall repeating the strict no bullying policy, one would think that there wouldn't be any more problems that day. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with Rachel Berry and Derek Breaker. That night, with their friends away or asleep, they crept into the bathroom and looked at themselves in the mirror. Rachel leaned forward and Derek pressed his back on the wall, hoping to see all of his body. They looked at the mirror with sad eyes. Rachel turned her head to the side and ran a finger down the bridge of her nose. <em>It <em>is_ huge._ She commented in her head. She faced it again and noticed that she had a square head. Derek threw his pyjama shirt to the floor and looked at the mirror. He cringed immediately. He brought his hands on his belly and bit his lips together, hoping to avoid a whimper. _You're not welcome here._ He told the fat. Rachel ran her hand through her hair. It wasn't anything special, just a dull brown like her eyes. Derek covered his "manboobs" with his hands and gave them a squeeze. He gulped and choked back tears. He did not look good at all. _You're beautiful._ Rachel thought, remembering what her fathers told her. She tried to cling to that. _You need to lose weight._ Derek's mother's voice rang in his head and he couldn't agree more. He _needed_ to lose weight. He could still change it. _I could still change it._ Rachel stared at her reflection and she felt her body underneath the nightgown. She still had a layer of baby fat and her boobs hadn't fully grown in yet. But she wished they did the way Derek wished his away. They stared at their reflections with a little contempt and a lot of sadness. What Amos said hit home and Rachel began to cry. Derek shook his head, refusing to. He picked up his shirt and turned the lights off and went back to bed. Rachel sobbed a little bit and began wiping her face with the heel of her hand before walking out of the bathroom. This was the start of many other nights of mirror staring. People should be more careful of the words they say because not even their friends could save them from the new monsters that came alive in the witch and wizard. They have to do it themselves; they have to fight those monsters down themselves.

* * *

><p>That Valentine's Day, the six friends decided to be each other's dates since the day fell on the weekend and they had a sudden craving for Madam Puddifoot's muffins and tea. And of course, that's the only food Derek was going to eat during that meal (possibly the whole day if he could handle it). They entered and a tune tinkled overhead, announcing their entrance. Reed spotted a big table at the corner of the shop, unoccupied and perfect for them. The place was all dolled up for the day, with red, pink, and white colours covering every square inch. Even the wooden floor was bewitched to look red. They passed oh-so happy couples as they walked. Justin Bancroft and his seventh year girlfriend Audrey Brightman sat near the front, holding each other's hands. Justin was talking about what he was going to do after Hogwarts while Audrey listened attentively. Just as the group passed, their teacups exploded and two blonds high fived outside. "Evan! Ethan!" Audrey shouted and her brothers' faces expressed fear before running away.<p>

"I swear, I don't know how you handle those two." Justin said, taking his wand out and wiping the tea off of them, it was a good thing it had long gone cold. "If I were their brother, they'd be dead by now."

Audrey laughed. "Yes, well… They're going to pay sooner or later. Let them have their fun." Justin smiled and kissed Audrey's hand. "They like you, you know. They're playing the harmless pranks. If they disliked you even a little bit, you'd have fireworks down your trousers."

"Good to know."

* * *

><p>The six friends sat down and they were given menus immediately. The group noticed that all the tables that would seat more than two people were on raised platforms. "It's probably because they want everyone to notice the losers who haven't got dates on Valentine's." Sofie joked as she looked over the menu. "Granger. You'd think that they would have Nutella by now."<p>

"Hey, Kurt, aren't they your prefects?" Derek bit back a giggle when his gaze landed on the two.

"Where – Oh, bloody hell." Kurt averted his eyes from Gwen and Rick snogging in the other corner of the shop. They had no decency to take it back to Gryffindor Tower. "I did not want to see that." His friends watched, just like most of the shop, with strange interest. They just kept going at it. Gwen's hand trailed down her boyfriend's chest and down under the table. Rick's grasped his girlfriend's neck and pulled her closer.

"I shouldn't be watching this but I can't stop." Rachel said with a tone of surprise. Suddenly, a macaroon sailed through the air and hit Gwen square on the cheek. They stopped and pulled away from each other, everyone watching immediately went back to what they were doing.

"Oi! Lovebirds, bring it to the castle." Lux called out and Rick flipped him off with the finger, so did Gwen. The Slytherin laughed as the two got up hand in hand and walked out of the shop, giving Lux a smack on the head when they passed him. With the place suddenly less erotic, the place was filled with more chatter.

"Ah, teenage love," Derek commented wistfully, "so hormonal." His friends laughed at that one, making him giggle as well. One of the waiters came to take their orders and they all ordered a big pot of tea and different pastries that they might share. Once the waiters left, Derek spoke up again. "I didn't know Lux and Ed were back together."

"They aren't." Sofie answered. "Reed and I saw Lux corner him on the way to Ravenclaw tower last night. He practically begged for them to talk today." She glanced that the two boys a few tables away. "And it looks like Ed is willing."

"That's cute." Brittany said. "They're really cute. I can't wait for Derek to get a boyfriend; I could watch them all day." She turned to Derek who was blushing profusely. She nudged his foot under the table. "I'm just joking, Dere… I think. Haven't decided." She laughed and so did Reed. Derek just rolled his eyes and glared playfully at the blonde. Then she remembered that she had something to announce. "Mm! Mates!" She pulled out a letter from her mum from her coat pocket. "Mum just wrote to me and I nearly forgot." She opened the letter. "She said that she found out that there is going to be a dance camp this summer in London. It's going to be a month and a half long and if we register early, we get a discount. There's going to be ballet, jazz, hip hop, ballroom, a bunch of camping stuff, and loads more!" Brittany had her first-day-back-to-Hogwarts face on and they were actually surprised that she was _that_ excited for the camp! "It'll be over before our two weeks before class meet-up and I was wondering if any of you wanted to come with."

"I'll go." Derek said immediately. A dance camp was what he needed. He's been meaning to dance with Brittany one day and this could be his chance to lose some weight. Dancing meant sweating. Sweating meant losing weight, right? He was going to beg for this opportunity.

"You will?" Brittany asked, with hope coating her voice thickly.

"I'll have to ask my parents but I'd love to go." Derek smiled. "It'll be fun."

"Anyone else?" Brittany asked around the table.

"I think my dads are taking me to Spain this summer to visit Daddy L's cousins or something." Rachel said. "Sorry, Brit."

"I can't dance to save my life." Sofie deadpanned. "Seriously, dancing and I aren't mates at all."

"I'll just end up injuring people." Reed shrugged.

"It's too far away." Kurt sighed. "And dancing isn't my forte either."

"Guess it's just you and me, Brit-Brit." Derek reached over Kurt and pulled her into a quick hug, squishing their friend in the middle. Afterwards their snacks came around with cups for the tea. The cherub above them threw pink confetti and Brittany giggled. Once they all had their cups filled to the brim with tea, Rachel raised her cup up.

"Here's to love." She said.

"Here's to being alone on Valentine's." Sofie followed with a laugh.

"Here's to friends." Derek added.

"Here's to cake." Instead of raising her cup, Brittany raised her plate that had her red velvet cake.

"Here's to us." Reed said timidly, carefully raising his cup, hoping not to spill anything.

"Here's to next year." Kurt finished and they clinked glasses (and plate) together before they drank (and ate a bit). They didn't care that they were the only group of friends in the whole shop and that they made semi-fools of themselves with that whole "here's to" thing. Since they're whole again, they decided to become closer than they already were. They spent the day in the shop, the couples came and went but they stayed there, talking and talking. They kept getting small pastries until they were sure they were almost out of money and they kept the tea warm by throwing some spells at it from time to time. They stayed there until it was time for them to walk back to Hogwarts.

* * *

><p>Lux wrapped his arm around his co-prefect. It was their last year in Hogwarts and they did well judging from the shiny House Cup back in their common room after it went to Gryffindor last year. "Isn't it lovely, Sydney?" He asked the girl beside him cheerily, shaking her a little bit. "Makes you just want to take it home forever."<p>

She chortled. "Tell me if I'm wrong but did you ask Ed if you could shag in the train and he agreed?"

"You know me all too well." He whispered. "But please, not in front of the children."

"Shove off, Bellmore." She rolled her eyes and pushed him away. He laughed as she walked away and back to her room.

Rachel, Stella, and Mercedes looked up at the cup with wide grins on their faces. "You know, even if Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup, we still got this. I think it's a fair trade." Stella placed her hands on her hips. "It kinda fixes the whole wounded Chaser heart thing."

"You're talking about that Bludger you took to the hip, aren't you?" Mercedes laughed.

"Yeah, this is better than revenge." Her friend wrapped an arm around her waist and she did the same with Rachel. "Come on, girls; let's get our luggage out of here." The year ended decently with happy faces and heartfelt goodbyes to the castle. There was that last day bustle of lost items and last minute packing. The corridors and common rooms were as noisy as ever but they're soon going to turn quiet before the day ended. In Hufflepuff house, they were having a brief farewell party to somewhat commemorate their prefects Audrey and Jenkin. "The Best Prefects Ever" hung in a yellow and black banner in the common room and Butterbeer was served around and a small Hufflepuff cake was devoured. Everyone gave at least one hug to each prefect and they were crying.

"We couldn't ask for a better house." Jenkin sniffled. "Thank you for being awesome."

"And very manageable." Audrey chuckled, making the others laugh with her. "I'll miss this. And whoever's going to be the next prefects, congratulations." The Hufflepuffs cheered.

"I hope you all will be nice to them." Her counterpart added. "That's the Hufflepuff thing to do. And I would like to remind everyone that, you know, since loyalty is one of our core values, remember that," his gaze landed on Derek for a moment before he turned back, "that we defend our own to the death. If any Hufflepuff is in need, we help, no matter what. Do I make myself clear?" He sniffled and since Jenkin didn't use his commanding tone all the time, everyone in Hufflepuff agreed. "Right, group hug!"

* * *

><p>The most collected house, Ravenclaw, stayed collected. There was chatter, of course, but it was more controlled and almost quiet. Almost everyone still hadn't talked to Amos, or his friends, Dade and Paul, since losing all of their points. They sat in a surly row on the common room couch. Reed and Sofie, having already said their goodbyes to their friends, walked pass them, ignoring them quite actively. They took it a bit more personally since they harassed their friends. Finally, they said a proper goodbye to their prefects, Trisha and Gibson, who smiled and bowed a little bit. "It was a pleasure prefect-ing you two." Trish said. "You made the least trouble."<p>

"And you didn't manage to claw anyone's eyes out because of grades." Gibson smiled. "And I hope that continues to seventh year."

"I hope so." Reed said. "I don't think I would like to duel in the common room."

The two prefects laughed. "You two be nice to your new prefects this coming school year, yeah?" Gibson said once Sofie began opening the door.

"No promises." Sofie laughed.

"She's joking." Reed whispered and went after his friend. They walked to the place where the corridors to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw met and waited for Kurt to arrive. They didn't have to wait long, Alice came with the cavalry. The Tweedles were flanking him, giving him some grief before they left. Shane and Julian just watched from behind with huge grins on their faces, amused and betting if Kurt was going to push them down the stairs this year. The two Ravenclaws waved a hello and a goodbye to the group across them. Julian winked before going down the stairs and Sofie wondered what a heart attack felt like. Shane walked down afterwards.

"We're back here again, Alice." Ethan said. "We'll miss you."

"Stop calling me Alice!" Kurt shouted furiously.

"Now, now, Kurt." Evan laughed. "Let's not spoil it for anyone." They gave him a quick hug and turned to Reed and Sofie. Their gaze lingered on the two of them for a moment then went to Reed before the nodded at each other. "Dormouse." Evan bowed. Erik twittered in his cage beside Reed.

"Talking Flower." Ethan did the same before they tuned to the stairs and skipped two steps as they went down.

"I hope they fall." Kurt muttered.

"Dormouse? Talking Flower?" Sofie shook her head. "What was that book Derek gave them?"

"Alice in Wonderland." Kurt said, as if the title left a bad taste in his mouth. He turned to Reed. "They've given you a name. Congratulations, they like you." He turned to Sofie. "It's either they don't know what to call you, or they're still thinking about it."

Sofie shrugged. "They can call me any name they want." Kurt dragged his hand down his face, making her laugh. "C'mon, you have to admit the Tweedles are pretty fit."

"You're calling them the Tweedles." Kurt groaned.

"Shouldn't I? I think it's cute." Sofie grinned. "Let's go down now, the others are probably waiting." She threw her arms around Kurt and Reed's necks. Kurt had to bend down a little bit to Sofie's height and they started walking down the stairs. It wasn't the safest position and after Reed almost fell down, Sofie let go. They laughed it off and continued walking down the stairs where Brittany, Rachel, and Derek were waiting with their pets. Another year gone. Another summer coming.

* * *

><p>If you read it all the way to here, I love you! :D<p> 


	4. The Year of Sexual Awakening

I KNOW I'M LATE BUT HEY WHO READS THIS ANYWAY OMG LIKE YEAH. OKAY IT'S HERE. I HOPE THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN TO CHAPTER 5 OMG I MIGHT DIE.

My drive to finish what I started pushes me to finish this fic no matter how horrible I feel about it.

Things to mention: Sophie and Kamy for the French translations, both from 3 and 4. I renamed a few Alice in Wonderland characters, stressing the fact that I did this purely for the sake of decent continuity and the original Alice in Wonderland nicknames are from CP Coulter. I haven't mentioned this before but I would also like to thank Rosie, Sophie, Sofie, Kamy, and Kristianne for letting me use them as characters in the fics. I would like to thank YOU, person who is REALLY reading this fic and not just opened it and say "fuck this shit" and closed it. I would like to thank you who actually take time to read this thing and yeah.

THANKS TO THE LOVELY LILY FOR BETA-ING MY FIC AND THE LOVELY SAM WHO ATTEMPTED TO BETA BUT WAS TOO BUSY HAVING A LIFE.

REVIEW PLEASE! :D

110 pages long omg.

LOVE LOTS

* * *

><p>"…Wait… Derek?" Sofie's mouth dropped ever-so-slightly and Kurt ever-so-slightly placed his hand under his friend's jaw and brought it back to a close.<p>

"In the flesh." Derek chuckled.

It's funny how a lot can change in a short span of time. People could get haircuts, new clothes, new dispositions overnight. Friends fight in minutes and then they're suddenly not speaking to each other. One word, one sentence could practically change someone's life in a snap. An hour's lesson could change someone's perspective on an object, an event, a process. In a second, someone could die and everyone connected to that person would change. It's like one day, you know a person and then suddenly they could change so suddenly. What about a week? A month? A year? If a lot could happen in one measly day… Imagine a longer span. Think about it. No one's completely the same after a long span of time. A lot can change, whether be good or bad. Or a strange mixture of both.

Derek had that strange mixture of both. He lost weight over the summer, a _lot_ of weight.

He, Brittany, and Reed beamed at their friends as they stood outside Florean's again. Reed knew Derek wanted this very reaction because it meant that things _did_ change during the summer and he's not just imagining it. He wasn't going insane and it wasn't a dream. Reed wanted that for him and he was vaguely proud like Mr. and Mrs. Breaker were. It must've rubbed off at some point. There was a slight hitch with Derek's happiness but it wasn't something he noticed right away or right now for that matter. He was far too happy, seeing the shock, feeling a bit of satisfaction that there was a blatant change.

"How did you lose all that weight?" Sofie spoke up again after she gave him a good once over. There was still a bit of chubbiness there but just a bit. "Just…_How_?"

"My mum and dad locked me in my room to starve and I came out looking like this after a couple of months." Derek chuckled.

"No, seriously." Kurt's eyebrow rose.

Derek laughed. "Alright. I ate less, got a treadmill back home – it's that thing the muggles use to run without actually going anywhere – ate less, and to top it all off, I went to that dance camp Brittany told us about. It was bloody amazing there. I love dancing. You know, as much as I love singing. Singing is fun. Can't wait to audition for the Nightingales." The three of them, Rachel, Kurt, and Sofie, stared at him again. Not only has he lost weight, he started talking more. They turned to Reed in comical unison, making him laugh before shrugging. He didn't know what happened during that camp but it brought along a more talkative Derek Breaker. They half expected him to say that he had sworn off books but judging from the piece of contemporary literature he was clutching, there wasn't an overly drastic change.

"Wow." Rachel said. "Your summer has been more eventful than ours."

Sofie snorted. "Says the girl who won two gold trophies from two different singing competitions over the summer."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "That's different; I've been doing that since I was old enough to form words. But this," she gestured to Derek, "this is eventful." She turned to Brittany. "When you said 'oh Derek lost weight' you didn't specify _how much_ it was!"

The blonde just shrugged. "Sorry." But she continued to smile.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." He answered and started patting their heads one by one. "Consider yourself surprised." At the same moment, Sofie took a picture.

"Okay, the shock has worn off." Sofie mused in a mock-bored tone, smirking at Derek. "Shall we consume the cream of ice?"

Derek linked his arm around Sofie's and grinned broadly. "Let's!" And the two of them marched into the parlour as if leading an army back from a victory, heads held high and fists in the air. The other four laughed and walked in after them. They all got big ice cream cones, save Derek who just had a modest sized cone with cookies n' cream dolloped heavily into it – the server was also shocked by the sudden change of appearance (to which Derek gave a huge smile and a huge tip).

The six of them sat in their usual table under the umbrella near the parlour's end. For a few seconds, they just sat down and ate their snacks before Rachel spoke up. "Alright then, did anything else change that was so deceptively unwritten in the letters we so often send day in and day out?" Without even thinking about it, Derek's eyes wandered towards his blonde friend. The girl in question just blushed and giggled as she licked her ice cream.

"I saw that Breaker!" Sofie pointed accusingly at the two of them. Derek laughed and Brittany tried her best to look embarrassed but in actuality she was a little smug about it. Sofie licked her ice cream before continuing. "What's with the look?"

Brittany bit her lip and turned to Derek, who nodded. This exchange sparked the curiosity of all of their friends and leaned closer like they would miss it if they didn't pay attention closely enough. She took a deep breath and looked at them with a serious expression. "Don't tell anyone, yeah?"

"Just out with it!" Rachel blurted.

Brittany looked around to see if anyone was listening but apart from them, the server, and a few witches on the other side of the store, no one seemed to be listening. This tested some of her friends' patience while Derek leaned back to try to see their reactions all at the same time. "I lost my virginity in dance camp."

The reaction was priceless. It reminded Derek of the Tweedles, who almost did everything in perfect unison. _We must be spending too much time with each other._ He thought, stifling a giggle when the other four's jaws dropped at the same time. Kurt's eyebrows shot up first, his expression disbelieving. "You didn't."

"Oh, I did." Brittany laughed.

"Bloody hell." Reed sat back and looked at his ice cream. "So… you had…" He looked uncomfortable even thinking about the word.

"Sex, yes." The blonde answered. Reed shrunk back into his chair.

Sofie was the only one _truly_ intrigued by this. "How was it? I want details, Pierce." She leaned in further, her ice cream nearly tipping but she noticed just in time.

Reed stood abruptly, causing his chair to go crashing to the floor. "Bloody hell. Sorry!" He called. "I-I'll get more ice cream, I think we're going to need it." And he stumbled off.

Kurt stood up as well, feeling equally uncomfortable about the subject. "I'll help!" He said to Reed. "And someone has to keep you from slipping and throwing ice cream all over the place." He added under his breath. As the two fashion-forward friends left their friends to talk about Brittany's little story. Kurt was just uncomfortable listen to anything about sex. Thankfully, neither of his parents decided to give him "the talk" yet and he didn't want that to _ever_ happen. Same thing for Reed, only he was just really awkward and he's afraid of saying something completely idiotic. Clark gave him "the talk" via letter but after the first sentence he just placed the letter back in the drawer, blushing really hard and replying "can you just do this personally?" To which Clark replied "fine, when I have time." The letter was still in the drawer under a lot of artwork.

Back at the table, Brittany was telling the story with childlike wonder. "He just brought me to the cabin while everyone was having dinner." She shrugged. "And then the virginity was, like, gone. Just like that." She snapped her fingers for emphasis.

"And then?" Sofie prodded. "What was it like?"

Brittany paused and stared blankly into space – her thoughtful expression. By the time Kurt and Reed got back with a big goblet of assorted ice cream, she began speaking again. "It hurt. At first. During the first time." She finally answered and a few eyebrows were raised.

"At _first_?" Rachel choked out. Kurt slipped a teaspoon into Rachel's open hand and she made no move to hold it. He shrugged and continued passing the others.

"Yeah it hurt." Brittany said slowly as she took a spoon from Reed. "Thank you." She finished her cone quickly so she could move on to the ice cream in the goblet.

"Yes, I understand that." Rachel said, almost hysterically. "But in order to have an 'at first' there would have to be a second."

Sofie, upon realizing that for herself, whirled her head to the blonde with brazen interest etched into her face. "How many times did you do it?" The whole subject of sex piqued her interest so intensely that she even leaned closer, nearly tipping the table. "Give us every dirty detail you slag you." Brittany blushed and giggled. Reed and Kurt shared a look that clearly said "we didn't leave long enough" and they both took a huge dollop of ice cream from the goblet.

"If you say so." Brittany said after another scoop of ice cream. "But swear that you won't say anything to _anyone_." She raised her pinky finger and wiggled it. "Pinky swear!" All of them joined into one ball of pinkies and held on tight, earning a satisfied smile from their friend. She took another scoop into her mouth and gathered her thoughts together. "We did it six times, I think."

"Wait, hold that thought." Kurt said, raising his hand to her face. "Who is 'we'?"

"Me and Corey. He's this really fit bloke in camp." Brittany grinned triumphantly. "He's been going for how many years now and he's turning seventeen sometime this year."

"Ooh," Sofie took a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, "more, more!"

"Wait!" Rachel interrupted. "Ar–"

"Damn it, Berry. Can't you see our group slag is telling a story?" Sofie took another spoonful.

The brunette shot her a glare, earning a big, innocent grin in return. She turned back to Brittany and continued where she left off. "Are you still talking to Corey? Did he give you his address? Anything?"

Brittany shook her head. "Nope. Totally didn't see him the last day of camp, did we Derek?" Derek shook his head, taking a small scrape of ice cream into his spoon. "See. Anyway, after the sixth time, I figure that was it."

And when they thought they couldn't get any _more_ shocked. "But…" Kurt began. "But… He was your first."

"…So…?"

Sofie jumped in. "Well, usually, since he's your first time to sixth, shouldn't you be all in love with him and stuff?"

Brittany made a thoughtful sound, like a high pitched hum behind her lips and she said, "No. Not in love with him." She thought about it before but in the end, there just wasn't anything there for Corey. There was no underlying sense of attachment other than the glorious sex. She reckoned he was really nice and a really good teacher but it sort of ended there for both of them. "It was fun though."

"Oh I bet it was." Sofie laughed. "Alright, back to the original story. Everything, Brittany. Everything. Now may I ask for no more interruptions?" She announced and smiled pointedly at Rachel, who just glared at her playfully. Sofie stuck her tongue out and her friend laughed. They turned to Brittany who sat up straighter. Reed, on the other hand, tried his best to stay calm and comfortable. Kurt was rather perturbed by the lack of romance in the whole thing. He always thought that first times were magically and bonded people heavily. He made a mental note to not engage in casual sex.

Everything was said in hushed tones, lower when people started pouring into the parlour. She talked about where they did it, when they did it, how they did it, and all of the other things the others asked. Brittany suddenly felt particularly grown up and it actually felt good. She was the one who went to the others for help, mostly for school and other wizarding things she didn't understand but now the tables have turned. She knew something _they_ didn't and she couldn't help but feel a small swell of pride. Sofie was the most interested out of them all, completely attentive, hanging on every word Brittany said. She ate the ice cream vigorously as if she was watching a movie unfold in front of her. Derek, having heard the stories since day one, resigned himself to reading the book he brought. He did, however, glance up from time to time to see his friends' reaction. He felt particular sympathy to Reed who looked like he was terrified but unable to turn his ears off.

After all the ice cream had gone and after Brittany described what her definition of a climax was, she said, "Well, that's _everything_." She giggled. "And, honestly," she leaned forward, making everyone lean forward as well, "I want to do it again, so much."

Sofie smiled broadly. "Go forth and be a slag, Brit. You are free from the tight bounds of virginity and inexperience!" Out of the sheer outrageousness of her statement, all of them laughed.

"Yeah," Derek seconded, "be a slag!" Brittany giggled.

"Just as long as you stay _safe_." Rachel added motherly. "I don't condone promiscuity but if that's who you are going to be as my friend, I will politely step back and let you be."

Kurt sat up with an expression of mock surprise. "Do my ears deceive me? Did Rachel Barbara Berry just say that she will 'step back and let you be'? It's a summer miracle." The others laughed and Rachel just rolled her eyes.

"Ha-ha, very funny, Kurt." She said leaning back on her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. Kurt laughed again and patted her shoulder, signifying that it was all just a joke. Once the fact that one of their friends wasn't a virgin anymore – at fourteen! – they walked out of the ice cream parlour to begin to go through their school supply shopping list. Apart from some follow-up questions from Sofie, their conversations continued as normal as they walked around the alley, looking for the supplies they needed. There were a few Hogwarts students milling around the place, but only a few that they knew. The ones they did know quickly walked over to say hello only to gasp in surprise of the new and improved Derek Breaker. They couldn't go ten steps before another schoolmate would come up, say hi and go "bloody _hell_" when they realized that their obese schoolmate wasn't obese anymore. The compliments were healing Derek's wounded self-esteem bit by bit, person by person. With his friends near him, it was quickly turning into one of his best days.

* * *

><p>At King's Cross station, a family of five were rushing to whichever train they had to go to. No one really paid them any mind; nothing was out of the ordinary after all. The family had a few common traits – raven black hair, pale skin, and light coloured eyes, varying from blue to grey. The girl had the bluest eyes while the eldest had the greyest. Their mum had grey eyes and their dad had blue.<p>

Two children, the middle and the youngest, a boy and a girl – the boy being taller by a good few inches – were bickering about someone bumping into somebody else's trolley, ending with the girl pushing her trolley forward and refusing to talk to her brother. The mother told her son to give it a rest. An older boy, taller than most of his family except for the father, sighed and continued walking after his family without making a sound, still a little tired from sleeping in.

Sofie was a little annoyed…

Okay she was rather pissed.

The lot of them slept in and they were rushing to the platform. That wasn't the only reason she was irritated – no, her brother Augustus slept the latest and almost insisted that they go to Hogwarts on their own. If it wasn't for her dad intervening, they would certainly have had to. She hated rushing; rushing meant haphazard dressing and baths. Rushing meant moving too fast for her liking. The Salvadairs were a little ruffled that day. Their parents had a small row right before they disapparated to the station. She and Augustus had a small row as well, about bathroom privileges and waking up early. The only calm one (at least on the outside) was Midas, the eldest brother. He hadn't said a word since he stopped his two siblings from having a duel in the house – Sofie in her bathrobe and Augustus in his pyjamas, while he was already dressed and ready to go. He kept an air of distant calm that almost seemed bored as he hung back at the back of the Salvadair procession which Sofie led. She didn't want to say anything to anyone just in case they decide to make a scene out of it.

When she saw platforms nine and ten, she rushed to it and was the first one to enter the platform, with two minutes to spare. She picked up her carry-on and slung it over her shoulder. The rest of her family came seconds later. They weren't the only ones late, a handful of families were rushing to the compartments. Students hastily said goodbyes and climbed into the train. Tisha and Sonny Salvadair whipped out their wands. "Go on to the train, we'll bring your luggage to the train." Their father said quickly, giving each of his children a hug. Tisha did the same only she pushed them towards the train when she was done. It wasn't a forceful push but it was enough to make them stumble just a little.

Sofie grudgingly hugged her parents – she was still a little cranky. The three ran to the nearest opening and their parents rushed to the baggage compartment, the trolleys rolling right behind them. Once they were inside, the siblings sighed with relief.

"I'll see you two later." Midas said and turned on his heel and left. "Try not to hit each other." He called as an afterthought. Augustus and Sofie glowered at each other and were about to say something scathing when a small sparkling firework floated in between them. It flew near Sofie's face and directed her to her left.

"Looks like your buddies are looking for you." Augustus said with a snarl.

"I better go." She retorted sharply and followed the spark. "Bye."

"Bye." Her brother replied almost mockingly. It simply wasn't their day today – even if they _were_ going back to Hogwarts. The train whistled when the spark stopped at a compartment on the opposite end of the station. She opened the door and the spark flew back over Brittany's head and made a small explosion before disappearing. They smiled at her and she greeted them with a tired wave. The train whistled and began to move slowly out of the station.

"So bloody tired, mates." She yawned as she threw her bag on one of the seats. "Overslept, the lot of us. I'm _so_ not in the mood for bullcrap." She sullenly sat down beside Rachel and the brunette gave her a small side hug. "Augustus is so annoying. Bloody _hell_." Derek sat down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you want to get something to eat? Do you want to go to Taco Bell?" He said seriously, making Brittany and Reed snicker. Sofie looked at him incredulously but then made the connection when she noticed the blank look in his eyes.

"I _can't_ go to Taco Bell! I'm on an _all-carb diet_. God, Derek, you're so _stupid_." She shouted and stood up in a huff. She crossed to the other side and sat there. "No one understands me!" But this time, Kurt and Brittany were already laughing while Rachel tried her best not to fall into the giggles.

"I understand you." Rachel said, walking to Sofie's side. Reed, who was shaking with a bit of laughter sat beside Derek. He sobered down and regarded Derek with a concerned expression.

"Oh Derek, you're not stupid." He said, mimicking what he remembered from that scene he's seen _dozens_ of times.

Derek lost no time to go to the next line. "No, I am actually. I'm failing almost everything." His voice sounded scarily like Karen Smith's. Sofie and Rachel were already giggling with the other two. The former was feeling better with every passing line.

"There must be _something_ you're good at." Reed continued.

Derek's dim – but somehow thoughtful – expression had his friends' bodies shaking with giggles and laughs, except Reed who tried his best to stay "in character". He did, however, note that the expression reminded him of Brittany. When Derek's face suddenly went excited, Reed let out a laugh. "I can put my whole fist in my mouth, wanna see?" He opened his mouth and the other held his wrist.

"No." Reed shook his head a little

Derek slumped down, looking disappointed before scooting closer to Reed. "Okay, don't tell anybody but I'm kind of psychic."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I have a _fifth sense_." He said, tapping his temple with a finger. "It's like I have ESPN or something! My _breasts_," he cupped his chest area, "can tell when it's going to rain." Reed was about to say the other line but ended up laughing in Derek's face.

"Sorry, sorry, I _can't_!" He laughed, leaning into Derek.

"Finest acting moment _ever_!" Derek grinned broadly as his friends succumbed to their laughter.

"I love you all!" Sofie announced and grabbed Rachel and Brittany (the closest to her) into a tight hug. She was still tired from her lack of sleep but her friends made her irritated feeling ebb away. She did fall asleep an hour into the train ride. Alec slept as well, right on top of Sofie. Derek and Reed started betting which one would wake up first. Derek took the side of his cat. They all fell into a sort of stupor, a couple of hours later. Derek finished another book and promptly took another one out of his bag. Brittany decided to go to sleep with Sofie when Kurt and Rachel decided to practice a song they wanted to do a duet on for the Nightingales. Reed was sketching away on his sketchpad. His mother had plans on starting her own wizarding fashion magazine really soon, possibly fall next year. She had him taking fashion workshops during the summer. He took them for two reasons: to please his mother and to pass the time while Derek was taking a few dance classes. (The two made sure that their schedules coincided.) Only one of his designs were good enough for his mum out of about seventy of them he had worked tirelessly on. He was mildly disappointed but he reminded himself feebly that he was still young. That she couldn't _really_ expect him to churn out a beautiful design everyday (though she did, only a little bit… A little more than a little bit). He was getting a little insecure about it, which was why he turned to art and singing time and time again just so he wouldn't suddenly burst into frustrated tears.

"Can I join in?" He asked Kurt and Rachel finally after running his fingers through his hair, exasperated with himself. The two looked at each other and they nodded. They picked another song and the three of them sang around for fun. Derek put his book down for a while and listened. An hour later, Sofie woke up with Brittany (Derek gave Reed a handful of sickles when Alec just slid down the girl's back and continued napping). They were only halfway through the journey when the two girls got up and went out to look for something to drink. Derek gave them money to buy him a cauldron cake. He put his book down and sat down on the floor to play with Lord Tubbington and Ellyse. He didn't mind the sudden folds he felt when he sat down. He thankfully didn't feel fat that day and he was actually hungry so he decided to indulge himself to one cauldron cake. Just one though, a little more and he wouldn't be able to eat his dinner.

The girls came back with a few snacks of their own and they spent the rest of the journey just talking like they do every day. They were just like any group of friends, they just talk. Nothing out of the ordinary. It may seem boring but they actually enjoy talking to each other. They could talk the night away if they wanted to. But of course, they had to stop a little bit when they had to change to their uniforms. When they finally got out of the train, the students looked up, as usual, to the castle that they missed the whole summer. "Glad to be back." Derek smiled and linked arms with Rachel and hefted Alec higher with his other arm. Some students were still surprised to see the new Derek and he just soaked it in on his own accord. He held his head higher than he's ever done since last year. He smiled wide and his friends did as well. "To the carriages!"

* * *

><p>There was that very distinct, attentive hush in the Great Hall as their Headmistress gave the open remarks and reminders. In the silence, no one wanted to make noise, it would draw far too much attention, which is why all conversations during this time were held in parchment passed around under the table. Then came the information that had been withheld from the rest of the school during the summer, save the Nightingales and their friends. "This year," Professor McGonagall said, "Hogwarts will host the Tenth Annual Interwizarding School Choir Competition." There were suddenly excited murmurs from the student body. "If you noticed the cottage being built on the grounds, that's where Cavvan Institute will be staying, all the other schools, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Cross will be staying in their own modes of transport." The news made the Hall buzz with overlapping conversations. They were all excited for the other choirs visiting and they all started to fret about how they were going to go about them. The Headmistress hushed them again to finish her announcement. "I trust that all of you will be on your best behaviour. This is your school and there will be no rough housing or the like. Carry the Hogwarts's name with the upmost respect and prestige. Treat them politely or there will be severe consequences – this means you, Mr. Brightman and <em>Mr.<em> Brightman." She shot a slight glare at the Gryffindor table that laughed, clapping the twins on their backs. Their plans were destroyed by that announcement (though their disappointment didn't show on their faces) and they had to think of new ways to prank the foreign students in more subtle ways. "That will be all for tonight." She finished saying. "Welcome back and let the feast begin!" There was a sound of awe, louder from the first years, when the food appeared on their tables. There was a moment of staring at the delicious and spectacularly prepared food before the students began digging in and started talking to one another.

On the Hufflepuff table, Derek watched everyone in silence, figuring out what to eat and when he should stop. He could remember when he used to shove shoved everything onto his plate and eating it faster than most of the others. He couldn't do that now. He'd get fat. He knew he would. His stomach rumbled, reminding him he _had_ to eat at some point. After reminding himself that he did eat just _one_ cauldron cake, he took one lamb chop and some fish and chips. Everyone around him stared a little bit, shocked at the relatively small meal on Derek's plate.

"Is that all you're going to eat?" Terry asked, surprised.

"Erm – yeah." He smiled awkwardly. "I'm saving room for dessert… I'm really not _that_ hungry." Oh, but he was. His stomach yearned for _all_ of the food on the table but he admonished himself for thinking about that. He's not quite there yet, not at his desired body structure and he couldn't jeopardize anything because he ate too much. _Hey, at least I'm eating._ He wanted to say, flashing back to that one month during summer where he'd only eaten once a week before his mum caught on.

"Are you sure?" Brittany asked from across him. "That's just a wee dinner, don't you think? It's the start of the year! Celebrate!" She grinned and Derek gave her a smile as well, it looked ever-so slightly pained, like he didn't like what he was hearing.

"Nah, I'm good." He replied. "I'm _really_ not that hungry." Brittany gauged Derek's smile and decided to drop it. After all, he promised her he would never do what he did in dance camp ever again.

Derek looked down at his food and started cutting up the lamb chop, meticulously putting them into bite sized square pieces. It wasn't the most precise cuts but at the end he was left with a plate of squares and rectangles and fish. His roommates and Brittany's roommates couldn't help but watch throughout the whole thing and he tried to ignore the looks. _It's how I eat now… They'll get used to it eventually. _The main course was immediately followed by dessert that everyone pigged out on. Derek took a couple of cookies and a slice of chocolate cake – he even shared it with Cody, who was still skinny as ever. All in all, dinner wasn't a total chore for Derek. He still had fun with them, mystifying them with his sudden loquacious streak – his small dinner forgotten. It was like any other dinner, only louder.

There wasn't any school for the next two days so everyone was still excited to catch up with their friends over the weekend. The new prefects led the first years to their new houses during their stay, answering questions, giving reminders, and commenting on every other room they passed. The older students either stayed behind in the Great Hall or explored Hogwarts just for fun, or looked for a place to snog while the night was still young. The six friends did none of those things. Or all of those things, depending how one looked at it. They stayed in the Great Hall for one reason mostly and that was because they were waiting for Brittany to stop talking to Derek Seigerson.

The five of them with addition of Julian and Logan waited while they sat in the far end of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. They watched with varying expressions and emotions as they watched their friends flirt, laugh, and flirt some more before their eyes. Julian and Logan mostly watched with bored vexation, they didn't want to have to endure this suffering when they've endured a _summer_ of it – endless flirting and endless (twelve) conquests. Sofie watched with mild jealousy, she had a minor crush on the other Derek and her _friend_ was getting the action! She silently thought to herself, thinking that if _she_ lost her virginity she'd get all the blokes like Brit did. She then snorted to herself. _Ha! Sex freaks me out. I feel sorry for the poor, poor boy that's going to marry me._ The others, except Derek, watched with surprise, they didn't know flirting took so long. Derek, however, was reading a book, glancing from time to time, trying to figure out what they were saying to each other based on the books he'd read.

After what felt like _forever_ (seven minutes), a few snarky remarks from Julian and Logan, and a rude gesture from Derek, the boy squeezed the girl's hand, making her giggle, before they got up and walked to their groups. The Ravenclaw winked at Brittany who continued to blush, biting her tongue, forcing herself not to smile too widely.

The trio left the Hall, bickering once again but joking around when they reached the staircases. That left the six friends lingering at the entrance with Brittany talking about their date on the first Hogsmeade visit. "…Then he's taking me to this little cliff he found overlooking the village. It's going to be marvy!" She laughed. "I've got a first date, mates!"

"You better tell us everything, you slag." Sofie teased, poking the blonde on her side. She's been using that word so much that Brittany didn't even bother to admonish her about it. "If I'm not getting Derek Seigerson for my own, I might as well know what he's like second-hand."

"Oh admit it, Sof, you're jealous." Rachel leaned her head on the Ravenclaw's and she was shrugged off, causing the tiny Slytherin to laugh.

"Shut up, Berry." Sofie rolled her eyes. "And I am, but hey, I've got other boys, I'm still fourteen, I've my whole _life_ ahead of me!" She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head up, radiating pride, only to get a shove from Rachel. They continued their walk down the corridor, students milling about, loitering on every available space they could find. The group was only walking to their houses as slow as they could. They planned on taking the last staircase at the end of the castle. It was going to be a long walk to the Gryffindor tower and the Hufflepuff house but it would be worth it.

"So Brittany's growing up faster than all of us." Kurt commented as they walked. "She's having a first everything while the rest of us haven't even had our first hand-hold yet."

"That's not true. Reed and I hold hands all the time." Derek blurted and mentally kicked himself when he realized what he had said. Reed turned a bright shade of pink and smacked his hand on his face with much more force than he intended – it was going to leave a mark.

"Derek…" He groaned as the others snorted into light laughter.

"Sorry." The other muttered.

"Wow, I didn't know your friendship went into that." Rachel said after sobering up. "Next you're going to tell us you're comfortable kissing each other." The two blanched but laughed along nervously, hoping no one would notice (and no one did). "Anyway, Kurt's right. Brit-Brit is growing up and experiencing all grown up things." She said as she good-naturedly patted the blonde's head.

"I'm experiencing all grown up things? Well then, bloody fucking shit." Brittany said conversationally and the others, including some students on the side, looked at her with surprise. Then her friends began to smile. She looked confused by the looks.

"Brittany said fuck." Sofie said in an astonished tone. "And shit."

"Fuck is bad word and so is shit." Derek whispered jokingly, mimicking Brittany's previous attempts to lecture them about swearing. They all chuckled, except for the blonde who just felt really bewildered by everything.

"What? You said grown up things." She pouted. To spare her from further confusion with any sort of explanation, they all just patted her gently and assured her it was fine. She took the patting with a smile and quickly pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Brittany," Reed said in a concerned tone she's heard from her mother time and again. "With the other Derek…Are you going to…you know…?" This question immediately earned the attention of everyone in the group. Of course, since Brittany said she wanted to do it again, they would like to know if she would so early in the school.

She shrugged. "I don't know. If he wants to, I reckon." She hadn't really thought about it but she figured it might be fun to have sex with someone closer to her age. Maybe she could be better than him, teach him all she knew (which wasn't really much).

"Only if he wants to, okay?" Sofie said, placing a hand on Brittany's shoulder. She might be a little loopy and fun-loving but she knew when to be responsible (some of the time). It wasn't really proper for a girl to initiate, that would make her _too_ easy and she can't have her friend really turning into a slag. Brittany, still surprised every time Sofie showed a hint of responsibility, nodded. "Good girl." Sofie laughed. "You better tell me if he snogs well."

"I'll tell you _everything_." Brittany gushed. "Until you all beg me to stop talking."

"Looking forward to that, mate." Sofie nudged Brittany's side and the taller girl put an arm around the shorter one's shoulders. The corridor was slowly turning silent as they walked deeper into the castle. Less and less students were walking around or leaning by the walls as they walked. They were nearly alone as they turned the corner.

"Speaking of looking forward," Reed announced as he ruffled Derek's hair, smirking faintly. "Are you looking forward to your Nightingales audition next week, Dere?" The friends' attentions shifted quickly from Brittany to Derek and the Hufflepuff smiled.

"Well, I am looking forward to it, actually." He answered smoothly. "I've been thinking about it, been running through songs during the whole summer. I've listed my top five back in my trunk." He swivelled his head to Kurt and Rachel and smiled. "Admit it; you're proud of me for thinking ahead." The two singers laughed loudly.

Rachel shrugged and had an expression of approval as she nodded. "We've taught you well over the years then."

"Now she can die happy." Sofie joked, earning a few chuckles from her friends. "Aren't you nervous?" She addressed Derek. "If it were me up there, singing in front of choir members and their bloody fit captain I'd be freaking out by now."

Derek just smiled as he shook his head. "I'm not nervous, at least not right now. Besides, I'm prepared, why should I be freaking out?"

* * *

><p>"I'm <em>freaking out<em>." Derek said hysterically as they neared the choir room that Monday afternoon. The sense of complacency that had lasted whole weekend suddenly vanished as soon as Monday morning appeared. Thoughts rushed around Derek's head, and they weren't that comforting. What if they don't like it? What if he didn't get in? What if he actually _dies_ of stage fright? What if he forgets the lyrics and _then_ dies of stage fright? All of that certainty just vanished and he was turning mad in front of his friends. It was like he was suddenly un-ready. "I can't do this! How many of you are there in choir right now?"

Kurt just eyed Derek up and down, thinking about when he should tell one of the girls to slap some sense into his friend. Regardless, he answered. "Fifteen, not including Professor Schue."

Derek whirled to face Reed, screaming, "Fifteen! _Fifteen_! One-five!"

"Brittany." Kurt said tightly as he began rubbing his temples.

The blonde just stared at Kurt while Derek began shaking Reed. "…What?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and turned to Sofie, who understood the look in Kurt's eyes. She walked up to Derek and shoved him away from Reed before planting a huge slap right across the frantic boy's face. There was a moment of silence before Derek turned to her and said, "Again, other side." Sofie conceded and the slap echoed to the other corridor. "Thanks, I needed that." He said, massaging his jaw. "That's some hand you got there."

Sofie smiled. "You're not going to go mad on us again, are you?"

"I think the slaps pulled me together." They stopped in front of the choir room where about a dozen other students were standing, waiting to audition. Kurt, Brittany and Rachel wished their friend luck before walking into the room with the rest of the Nightingales. Derek turned to Reed and Sofie. "Are you sure you two won't audition?"

"No chance in hell. If I sing, the unicorns will cry. I don't want them to cry." Sofie answered seriously before grinning. "But that's okay; I'll be your cheerleader this year or something. I'll make posters."

Derek turned to Reed, who was shaking his head. "Not this year, mate. Maybe next year…or the year after that."

"Next year." Derek glared, making Reed crack a smile. Before he could _make_ Reed promise – and he was considering an Unbreakable Vow – Professor Schue opened the doors of the choir room.

"Alright, everybody ready?" He asked and Derek gave out a squeak before turning around robotically. He tried his best to control his feelings and anxieties; he _really_ didn't want to get slapped by Sofie again. His two remaining friends wished him luck again before the choir director instructed them to enter. He shot them one last glance over his shoulders, they waved. He also saw other students waving to their friends and giving them encouragement. He smiled at Sofie and Reed before he turned to face the choir members. The doors closed behind them. Outside, the two Ravenclaws linked arms and decide to walk around before they came back to collect their friends. Inside, there was a short lapse of silence before the choir captain, Lorien, spoke up.

"Hello!" He said, earning the attention of the auditioning students. "Welcome one and all! I hope you're not nervous, we're not going to chew you up and spit you out after you're audition." Somehow, that statement wasn't all that comforting. Derek looked around the room and surveyed the Nightingales as Professor Schue began talking about the instruments or something but he wasn't really listening. Everyone seemed nice; he could see a seventh year Hufflepuff, Thomas, grinning widely when they made eye contact. It was strange how he only talked to students in Hufflepuff. Then his eyes gazed at another Hufflepuff, Blaine, who was obviously glaring at Logan on the other side of the room. The Ravenclaw looked coolly indifferent. When he started to wonder if he was missing something his friends waved from the back of the room and he waved back. He looked at his "competition" and only really recognized a couple of them out of the eleven (or twelve) students in the group. It looked like he was the only fourth year there; most of them were third years or fifth years.

"Alright, so go get seated and we can start the audi –" The doors banged open, interrupting the choir director's instructions. At the sight of those who entered, there were groans from around the room, Kurt and Logan's were the most pronounced.

"Sorry we're late!" Evan said, grinning as wide as his twin. "We had to go around the school, Mr. Filch was chasing us."

"What did you do this time?" Logan asked, almost bored with their antics after years of being around them.

"Oh nothing that anyone needs to know about, our dear, dear Knave." Ethan answered causing Logan to scowl. Simultaneously, the Tweedles looked at Professor Schue and gave them the most innocent look they could muster. The professor just chuckled and shook his head. "We'd like to audition together, if that's okay."

"Of course." Professor Schue said and the twins bumped fists. They waved at everyone as the group walked to the nearest vacant chair they could find. Derek immediately grabbed a chair and sat beside Rachel. The Tweedles did the same, sitting right behind their Alice. Kurt looked a little red with frustration. As if he didn't have to live with them already, now they were auditioning for the choir. He had to face it: he was basically stuck with their company until they leave Hogwarts.

"Hello, Alice." They intoned in unison. Kurt grumbled out a hello. His grumpiness didn't faze them and they greeted the others nearby. They even flirted with Brittany and Rachel, calling them "_pretty_ talking flowers". (Derek hid a giggle, amused by the effect the book he lent the twins last year.) Rachel was completely taken aback since no one's _ever_ flirted with her before. And for the first time in choir room history, Rachel Berry shut up – much to Mercedes and Kurt's amusement. They complimented Brittany on her dancing and the blonde just blushed and flirted back just a little. Finally, they looked at Derek, top to bottom. He found the gaze a little unnerving.

"Stop it." Derek whispered while the first audition was starting. "It's freaking me out." The twins stopped looking at him and looked at each other, thinking one thing: they were going to give the giver of the best book in the world a name. Slowly, they turned their heads to face Derek once again, making the Hufflepuff stare back. "What?" He whispered.

"Nothing." They smirked and turned their attention back to the auditions. Derek found it strange, then again, they've always been strange so he ignored the exchange and tried to calm himself. He didn't have much time though, before long, he was next.

_Damn me and the fact I wrote my name early on the audition list._ He gulped and Rachel squeezed his hand tightly. "Don't worry," she said, "the number you picked will get you in, trust me and my professional opinion." Kurt and Brittany urged him off his seat and he began his shaky walk to the centre of the room. His friends gave him the thumbs-up of encouragement and he smiled warily.

"What'll you be singing for us today, Derek?" Professor Schue asked.

Derek fidgeted with the sleeve of his robe as he answered, "_Cheap_ by the Weird Sisters." The professor nodded and flicked his wand towards the instruments.

Lorien chuckled to himself. "Classic. Good choice, mate."

The Hufflepuff smiled the same time his friends did, after all, they helped him pick the song. And in their opinion, that song was Derek's sure fire way to get into the choir. "Thanks." The music started, slow at first so Derek had enough time to steel himself before opening his mouth to sing. His voice made a few eyebrows rise, just a few. It wasn't _that_ mind blowing but it was getting there. Some of the choir members nodded and noted in their head that if he stuck it out in the Nightingales they could mould that voice into something _huge_. Back when he was still singing for his friends before the audition, Kurt and Rachel likened the voice to Reed's, only his was a little lower. Derek was frozen on the spot for the first verse and chorus but immediately loosened up when he noticed the approving looks on the Nightingales. He started enjoying the song, flashing a huge grin when he could.

"The boy has charm, I'll give you that." Lorien whispered to the choir director beside him and the older wizard nodded, still watching as the boy in front performed. Right at the bridge of the song, Derek reached out and grabbed a floating guitar, thereby breaking the spell. The bridge was toned down and acoustic and it was the perfect time for Derek to pull a guitar and do what he's been teaching himself to do. All the other instruments stopped playing and Derek began to strum slowly as he sang. His friends' jaws dropped. This wasn't part of the plan. They knew that Derek began teaching himself how to play a guitar during the summer but they didn't know he was bold enough to grab a guitar in the middle of his audition and use it. He didn't know either, the thought just seized him completely and he went with it. The chords were simple enough and were pretty much the same until the end of the song. He hoped that he didn't make a mistake because that would be both embarrassing and distressing. He _really_ wanted to be in the Nightingales.

Derek sang the last word and strummed his last chord. There was silence at first but then some excited murmurs. He noticed Thomas grinning at the end of the room, something he rarely ever did apart from performances. His friends clapped heartily, making him blush profusely. "Oh yeah, White Queen!" The Tweedles announced and made him stop in his tracks.

"…What?" He asked as Professor Schue called out the next name.

"It means they like you." Kurt said wryly before patting the chair Derek vacated earlier. At that statement, the twins grinned broadly, making Derek feel both unsettled and flattered. He sat back down on his seat to watch the rest of the auditions.

"Was that okay?" He whispered to Rachel.

"It was okay. Like we said before, you're getting into the Nightingales, no sweat." She whispered back, bumping their heads together playfully. But still, Derek was gravely nervous, fidgeting with his robe's sleeves every few seconds. Everyone seemed to be better than him and as irrational as it may have been, he couldn't help but think that. He tried to reassure himself that he'd get in but the fact that he wouldn't find out until tomorrow didn't really put him into the mood for reassurance. He over analysed what he did. He replayed it in his head and to his mild horror he realized that he could've done some parts better. He mentally kicked himself for thinking it out too late. He gripped Rachel's hand unconsciously and his friend squeezed back. "Are you okay?" She whispered.

Derek just shook his head. "I'm still really nervous."

Rachel sighed. "Don't be, Dere. You did well!" The anxiety receded with a nod and a smile. When he was all alone though, in his Hufflepuff dormitory, with everyone asleep and everything quiet, he couldn't help but worry.

But all that worrying, fretting, and mild sleep deprivation (as well as the completely irrational thoughts of "you're not going to get in, your face is a _mess_, you know like your body" – brought to him by aforementioned sleep deprivation), proved to be a total waste of sweat and neuron power when, the very next day, Derek was accepted into the Nightingales with six other students. With that affirmation, the once fat Hufflepuff's smile couldn't be erased for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>Practice started immediately. If they wanted another first place win, they'll need all the time they have. As usual, the first week consisted of group numbers so that the new Nightingales can get the hang of working together and blending their voices <em>perfectly<em> with each other. At the second week, everyone was allowed to get solos and suggested songs for them to sing. Obviously, Kurt and Rachel jumped at the chance as soon as Professor Schue uttered the words: "does anyone have –". If there's one thing the Gryffindor and Slytherin had, it was a song. They even got into a minor spat about which song they were showing that day (they intended to show a song twice a week). This sparked a bit of competition in the choir, all of them clamouring for a solo. There were a good ten Nightingales _really_ giving it their all, hoping to sing lead. The rest tried a few times but then decided to let it all be and left Lorien and Professor Schue to decide what songs to sing. After all, they still had a lot of time before a concrete set list was made.

Rehearsals were rewarding yet at the same time exhausting – especially for those who either had O.W.L.'s, N.E.W.T.'s, Quidditch practice or a horrid combination of a couple of those. But in the end, all of them found that positive outweighed the negative. This was the subject of discussion as the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors as they walked to greenhouse three for Herbology class.

"I haven't danced that hard since dance camp." Derek huffed, remembering yesterday's practice. "I'm still a little sore." He rubbed his shoulder, hissing at the contact but then started to relax as he massaged it.

"It's always the first month's that's the hardest." Kurt commented. Brittany nodded to affirm the idea. "You should go to Madam Pomfrey about that."

"Thanks, mate." Derek muttered.

"I think rolling on the ground is a good way to ease –" Brittany started but Derek couldn't help but interrupt due to an unbearably embarrassing incident at dance camp. The back of his hand appeared right in front of Brittany's face, causing her to shut up almost immediately.

"Brit, _please_ do not suggest the ground thing ever again." He said tightly, trying to chase away the memories. "We've talked about this." Kurt was already red with stifled laughter. Brittany looked down to the ground sheepishly and mumbled an apology.

Kurt coughed, hiding an escaped giggle before quickly changing the subject. "So, Brit. How are you and Derek?" She wrapped an arm around Derek's shoulders and began opening her mouth but Kurt immediately pushed in an afterthought. "The _other_ Derek, Brit."

"Oh." They could almost see the realization hit her as if it was a concrete idea. She pulled her arm away from her friend and said, "Well, we're not 'dating' anymore, if that's what you mean." Kurt had the beginnings of a comforting speech at the tip of his tongue but Brittany instantly thwarted that. "It's okay, he was still a good shag and we both know we can't settle down." She neglected to add that they had hot break up sex in one of the classrooms but no one reminded her of it. "I might not be the smartest girl in the world but I noticed the way he was looking at other girls while we were dating. I didn't mind much, he has really good taste." Her offhand comment made Kurt and Derek stop in their tracks. They shared a look as Brittany wandered forward. They also shared one thought: _Did you hear what I think I heard?_

Brittany suddenly noticed the lack of bodies walking with her making her turn around. "Oi! Greenhouses are _this_ way?" She said, oblivious to the severity of what she just said. It was just completely natural to her, just like dancing and magic; she was bewildered as to why her friends just stopped like that. Before there was a huge lapse in time, her two friends shook themselves out of it and began moving again.

They entered the greenhouse with a bit of shock and disgust on their faces. "Come in, you lot! We have some things to tackle today!" Professor Sprout announced when she saw the first head come into the place. She gestured for them to move forward though no one seemed to be willing to. Actually, they would've run away if they could. Right in front of them were huge, black, ugly slug-like things that shouldn't be allowed to be called plants sprouting out of the ground vertically. "Can somebody tell the class what these are?" Their professor asked loudly.

Kurt raised his hand and the professor gestured to him. "Bubotubers, professor."

"Very good, five points to Gryffindor." She clapped her hands together. "Get your dragon-hide gloves and we'll do some squeezing." Some of the students looked revolted and a little green while the others didn't understand the reaction.

"Squeezing _what_ exactly?" Someone called from the back.

"See those shiny swelling bits?" The herbology professor asked. "Well, _those_ need squeezing because we'll be collecting pus today." Kurt scowled with the cries of protest from some of their classmates. Professor Sprout waved it away and told them to move along. Unfortunately, they had to do as they were told and they got out their gloves. It was a very practical lesson. As they squeezed the unsightly bumps on the bubotubers, their professor rattled out facts that she said were found in their book though at some point in the lesson she told them to remember a certain piece of trivia or deviation from the book. Since their hands were too full of pus for them to actually write it down, they depended on each other to get bits and pieces and somehow put them together at the end of the class. For the whole duration, there was only one accident for an unfortunate Hufflepuff, Brittany's roommate, Ella. The pus burst into her face when she popped one and she was sent to the Hospital Wing straightaway, hyperventilating. Though it wasn't proven, it was said that Shane, Kurt's roommate, was to blame for the accident. He allegedly dropped a bottle and went down to retrieve it, during which, he brushed on Ella's thigh, making her squeeze a little too hard.

"She'll be fine," their professor announced. "She might get an irrational fear of the smell of petrol and anything yellow-green for a while. I need to stress again that all of you should be careful." The bell echoed from the castle, signalling the end of one class and the almost-start of another. They all came out smelling vaguely of petrol, something Kurt hastily tried to remedy. "Honestly, that class…" He muttered as he did a quick cleaning spell on the air on and around him. "I'll see you two soon." He climbed up with all the other Gryffindors as Brittany and Derek climbed down, following their fellow Puffs. From a short distance, they could see the Ravenclaws making their way on the same direction – Hagrid's hut. Though their teacher wasn't there yet, they all used this time to mingle as a class.

* * *

><p>"They're announcing the set list next week!" Rachel squealed as they took their first steps into Hogsmeade village that was on full autumn tilt, complete with leaves on the ground and bare trees. It didn't seem like such a real thing before then – the set list announcement. But it really was! And with that statement, Derek, Brittany, and Kurt's eyes grew wide, coming to the same conclusion as Rachel. They grinned broadly.<p>

"I wonder if we'll get to do that group number with that high note Mercedes does." Derek commented energetically. "That song gave me _chills_." His fellow Nightingales nodded in agreement, even Rachel, who actually thought the high note was a superb way of showing Mercedes's talents. Sofie and Reed just pictured the song in their head – they've heard Mercedes sing before, of course, during a performance at last year's Christmas.

"What _would_ be just absolutely brilliant if they chose the duet Kurt and I do to _Stand Corrected _by Kirly Heatheon." Rachel said, snaking an arm around Kurt's. They both smiled. "We would bring the audience to ugly _tears_." She added exultantly.

"Sometimes, you scare me, Rachel." Sofie said with a straight face before she cracks a smile. "Seriously, all this talk about bringing everyone to tears and crying every time you do a solo –"

"Which is true, as you all know."

"– sounds a little depressing, don't you think?"

Rachel placed her free hand on Sofie's shoulder. "No, you don't get it. Being me," there was a collective, somewhat playful, somewhat serious, eye roll from all of her friends which she ignored, "I tend to _feel_ the emotions of the song and sometimes those emotions just need to get out of my body or I will fall to the floor in an ungracious mess." She said it like she was really serious about it. And she actually was. "So you just _push_ those emotions out!"

"And the audience?" Reed asked dryly, already guessing what Rachel was about to say.

"Well, I convey those emotions and they are just _moved_." As she was saying this, Rachel closed her eyes and does this expression she does that everyone sees whenever she performs an emotional song (there were a lot of those).

"Whatever, you're still a bit of a freak." Sofie chuckled, shrugging Rachel's hand off her shoulder. "But I _love_ you so much so that's okay." The two girls shared a laugh. Rachel disentangled herself from Kurt and pulled out her wand. With a swish, a flurry of different coloured leaves flew towards the Ravenclaw, eliciting a shriek of laughter. "You'll pay for that Berry!" The Slytherin backed away and started running as soon as the leaves started floating behind Sofie. As the two girls chased each other and attacked with leaves, their other friends ran after them, just in case one of them got into an accident. It really wasn't a strange sight to see young wizards playing around with their friends. In fact, it was most welcome in the village. What _would_ be strange is the sight of behaving students that didn't seem to notice that they weren't in school anymore.

Before long, they were tired out and began walking down the streets again.

They chatted nearly mindlessly as they walked through the student-filled streets of the village. They did this methodically at every Hogsmeade visit – walk around for an hour or so, talking and talking before they go into the shops they found particularly interesting that day. Eventually, they end up getting a lot of sweets from Honeydukes before secluding themselves to either The Room or the Three Broomsticks. (They try to limit these visits to The Room to avoid suspicion.) That day, they visited Dominic Maestro's – a local music shop.

The six of them stopped at the door when they realized who were in the same shop as they were – Amos Bray and his friends. The older Ravenclaw noticed their entrance and muttered something to his friends, making them look at the doors as well. Sofie and Rachel lead the charge into the store, unwilling to be intimidated. "Is that the new Margaux Austen record?" Sofie gasped, walking to one of the shelves of records that said "new arrivals". "I didn't know they sold this here." The wizard behind the counter eyed the students warily, sensing the tension as soon as the group entered the shop. The others followed their friends into the shop. Amos grunted something unintelligible and they moved to exit the area. The fifth year purposefully bumped into Derek who didn't have time to evade it. It was the most he could do after shaming Ravenclaw last year, but he'll take what he can.

Derek shrunk into himself when Amos shot him a glare which was followed by two more from the lackeys. He had a brief flashback of that whole corridor fiasco not too long ago and shivered. Thankfully it didn't last long, leaving as soon as the shop door closed and Brittany asking the wizard if he could play _one track_ from a record she picked out. "You okay?" Sofie asked, approaching her friend.

"Yeah." He said, managing a small smile. "It's not like they attacked or anything." Sofie patted his shoulder and they joined their other friends at the counter.

In Brittany's hands was an Althea Duskwort record, her new one that hit the stands that autumn. Althea was gazing from the record with an intense look that willed people to pick it up and buy it. She moved from pose to pose, from one intense look to another. She didn't seem to smile until she noticed Rachel admiring her slightly.

"But sir!" Brittany pleaded. "It's just one song, what harm could it do?"

The old wizard, Alisdair Muffet, sighed again, putting his head on his hand. It's been that way day in and day out since he was left with the store. He couldn't escape his fate once the old manager of the shop died so suddenly. He was once so enthusiastic about music, working here when he was much younger. However, he used to aspire to be someone to be _sold_ on the shelves. When the last owner died and he was made the new owner, he closed down the shop and chased after his dreams. Unfortunately, no one saw – or heard, for that matter – the same things he did and in the end, he reluctantly opened the shop again after a brief but agonizing couple of years and resigned himself to being a shopkeeper. "It's protocol, my dear." He said like he's been saying it for centuries on end – like he was bored with life. But the blonde wasn't deterred and she just continued pushing.

"But the store's boring." She argued. "It's a music store but you're not playing music."

"She has a point there, sir." A tiny boy, the one with the curls, seconded meekly.

"You've been here for how long?" A Slytherin added. "And honestly, what's so wrong with a bit of music? It might attract customers if they knew what you're selling." Alisdair eyed the short Slytherin with some mild thoughtfulness. Then his eyes wandered to the windows that have dusted over after quite some time. He made a mental note to clean them later (though he would most likely forget).

He looked at the girl again then at the others. No one's ever been this adamant on playing music since himself when he started working here. "What do you say? Just one song?" The blonde said again.

"It'll be nice. We're sure it's bound to bring people around." A boy, the tall one with a high voice, said.

"Fine." Alisdair grunted and took the record from the blonde's hands. The picture of Althea clapped daintily, like she was praising the children for making the wizard play some music. "Which track was it?"

"The fifth one." Brittany grinned. Ever since starting at the Nightingales last year, she was exposed to more and more wizarding world music and everyone in Hufflepuff had been buzzing about Althea's new record. As a matter of fact, the song that was playing in the store was sung a week ago but a fellow Nightingale.

"There. Happy?" The old wizard asked, annoyed. Kurt reached over the counter and turned the music up so it could be _actually_ heard. He glared slightly at Kurt, who just smiled and explored the store.

"I wonder why he's so grumpy all the time." Brittany asked Reed over the music as they flipped through some records on the bargain bin. She glanced at her friend and she noticed that Reed was already mouthing the lyrics, reading the track list of an old record. Before she could repeat the question, Reed looked up.

"I don't know." He said. "Maybe he just doesn't like his job." They could already hear Rachel and Sofie singing the chorus at the top of their lungs, making Brittany giggle. "I'd probably enjoy this job." He mused, going back to record looking. "You know, if I had nothing else to do. Doubt my mum will let me have a job like this."

Brittany nodded. "I think he just needs something to colour his world. It must be horrible coming to this place where it's quiet all the time. He's got this much music and he's not using it."

Reed chuckled and placed a record back. He turned to Brittany with an amused expression and leaned his weight on the records. His friend continued looking at the records before she stopped and noticed that Reed was giving her a look. "What?"

"When did you get so smart?" He asked, earning a playful smack on the arm.

A retort was on the tip of her tongue when the door opened and a group of fifth year girls entered the shop. "I didn't know they sold modern music here." One of them said with a smile. The group started browsing the store.

The usually empty music shop filled with girls and some boys right after the first Althea Duskwort song. Alisdair was too shocked to even stop the second song from playing; the store had customers before but not this many. "Shocked, Mr. Muffet?" Derek said, leaning on the counter. He got no reply for the old wizard was just staring at the sudden amount of customers. "Yeah… I cleaned your windows for you, they were looking gross…"

Alisdair looked down at the boy. "Wha – I mean – thank you." The fact that the children were right – that music would've brought more life into the desolate prison he had secluded himself in – still hadn't sunk it. Students were singing in the store again. They actually stayed more than two minutes. It was all too much to take in.

Derek slid a record onto the counter. "I'd like to buy this." He said. "And I'd like to suggest track four of this, it'll bring some guys. It's nice to have some diversity, after all." The old wizard picked up the record (_Ringleader _by the band Smoking Slayers) and put it into one of the old, rarely used cases he had under the counter. He mindlessly rang Derek up for three galleons and the Hufflepuff paid dutifully. "Thank you."

"…You're welcome." Alisdair said, still looking at the new galleons in his hand.

"Mr. Muffet." Derek waved a hand in front of his face, earning his attention. "If it isn't much of a bother, I think a mix-record would be a nice way to keep the music fresh." Before the wizard replied, another student went up the counter, setting _two_ actual records for purchase. Derek smiled and turned around, walking over to a gaggle of Nightingales talking to Kurt and Rachel right at the corner of the store.

"Let's go?" He asked, after saying a few hellos to his fellow choir members. Rachel and Kurt nodded in agreement. "Where're the others?"

"I think I saw Brittany at the other side of the store, I'm quite sure she's with Reed." Kurt answered, craning his neck above the shelves. "And Sofie's talking with Quinn right at the entrance." Then Kurt's expression went into a sneer. "The Twins. You know, I always find it strange when they're not either in Honeydukes or Zonko's."

"What about them?" Rachel asked, jumping a little to see over the shelves.

"I think they're talking to Brittany…" Kurt said before his eyes went wide with realization. "Oh bloody hell."

Derek laughed and poked Kurt's cheek with a finger that Kurt swatted away immediately. "What's so wrong about the Tweedles talking to Brit?" His friend huffed and crossed his arms. He just glared at the scene from the other side of the store before giving it up and moving towards another shelf of records.

Right on the other side, Brittany had her best flirty face on. Reed edged himself down the end of the aisle, glancing time to time. The Tweedles appeared out of nowhere, greeting Reed and Brittany with a slightly unnerving "hello Dormouse and pretty talking flower" (Brittany turned to Reed and asked him when he was going to tell them that he was a mouse). Reed backed off especially when one of the twins shot him a playful wink. He secluded himself to a corner, making some excuse to check the records there, no one protested. But he stayed near enough to eavesdrop just in case the twins went a little too far. What would he do? He'd have to find out if it came to it.

"I like how you two match." Brittany said, running her fingers down the sleeves of their coats. "But it'd be hard to tell you apart."

"You wouldn't have to." Evan said while Ethan winked. "We're pretty much the same."

"And telling us apart is quite unnecessary." Ethan seconded, moving to Brittany's other side, leaving the Hufflepuff sandwiched between the two Gryffindors. "We were wondering if you'd like to go with us for a quick broom ride tonight."

"After curfew." They said.

"Wouldn't that get us in trouble?" She asked, feeling hesitant about sneaking out at night.

"Don't worry." They answered in unison as Evan put an arm around her shoulders. "We _never_ get caught."

"Do we snog after?" Brittany asked, surprising the twins just a little bit at the straightforward question. But they didn't let it stay quiet for long.

"If you want." Ethan said, already more excited about it.

"Wicked, I haven't tried twins yet." Brittany said, leaning up to kiss their cheeks. "So…tonight?" She asked again. Not because she forgot but so she could use a grin she's seen many times from Derek. The twins' eyebrows rose with a sort of awed grin accompanying it. She was just so eager to go out with them both. All the people they've asked out tried to pick one twin and they didn't appreciate any of that.

"Yeah, tonight." They nodded, reaching up to unconsciously touch the cheek Brittany kissed. "We'll meet you by the kitchens. Ten-thirty."

"Brilliant." She said.

"Brit," Reed said, appearing on Brittany's side, "let's go. They said we're going to Honeydukes to pick up some sweets."

"Okay." She wiggled her fingers at the twins, who did the same but with more enthusiasm. She turned around, her hair whizzing gracefully behind her. They walked away and when they were out of earshot, Brittany started to giggle.

"Let me guess. A date?" Reed grinned, nudging Brittany's side, making her giggle more.

"Yup, and we're sneaking out for it." She said, excitement colouring her face. She'd never snuck out before, _ever_. Apart from having all the grown up things she's done, she hadn't snuck out yet! She felt that tingle of doing something bad and the possibility that she'll get caught. It was a good tingle that bubbled in her stomach. The tingle was a mix of anticipation and fear, like riding a rollercoaster. She liked the tingle and she liked the twins so she figured this was a good thing.

"Sneaking out for what?" Sofie asked, intrigued. The others gathered around the door as Derek pulled it open. All of them heard what Brittany said so they were all ears. "Kurt said he saw you talking to the Tweedles, so spill, Pierce."

Brittany laughed. "Yeah, I've got a date tonight with the Tweedles." She answered as they walked out to the crisp autumn air, the music still spilling into the streets of Hogsmeade. Her answer was met with cheers from her friends.

"The fittest twins in school." Sofie nodded with approval. "A bit mad but hey, that would make them great in bed." They laughed, passing a group of students who just had their fill of Honeydukes sweets. Everyone looked at the tantalizing treats in their hands before resuming their walk. The craving hit them on full force.

"…I could find out. They seem really eager." Brittany said when they started walking again. Her friends gave her a startled looked that she took as a normal expression from them.

"I don't think that sends the right signal if you do it on the first date." Reed said after a second of quiet. They were concerned with Brittany's way of life recently. It's not that they were totally against it. She was being safe (they hope) and she was still the same Brittany, only a lot more sexually active. At least she didn't have sex listed down as her favourite hobby – no, it's tonsil hockey. It was like when she and Ravenclaw Derek broke up, she spent her time away from her main group of friends looking for snogging friends. It was usually boys (and girls – Erin and Ella) in Hufflepuff, sometimes a couple of Nightingales.

"You're right…" She said, but in her head, she told herself that if they initiated, she wouldn't really protest. None of them thought that she knew what she was getting herself into – the labels of slag, whore, or easy. They might have let it go so far that they couldn't change that. All they could do now was protect her from all of that.

"So, Three Broomsticks or the Room today?" Sofie asked, deviating from the previous subject completely, she didn't want to make a scene about something mildly trivial. "I'm partial to the Room because we haven't been there for two weeks now."

"How about we grab some Butterbeer before going to the Room?" Kurt suggested. He didn't really condone Brittany's lifestyle but she was his friend so he would just have to protect her. All of them did.

"I like how you think, Hummel." Sofie chuckled, wrapping an arm around her tall friend's shoulders. If Kurt was an inch taller, she'd really have to go up her tiptoes to reach him. Of course, she would bring him down with her if he was.

"Then we can share a bunch of Honeydukes sweets while talking about the deeper meaning of life and crap like that." Derek said.

"I like how _you_ think, Breaker." The Ravenclaw said and she turned to Kurt. She shook his shoulders. "I'm sorry that it didn't work out between us, but you understand right? We're simply not meant for each other. It's not you, it's me! Bye." She jumped from Kurt to Derek, making them stumble into Reed, who evaded them but then ended up hitting the low sign of Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. He rubbed his forehead and nose.

"What have you been _inhaling_, Salvadair?" Kurt chortled while Rachel started fixing the small cut that appeared on his forehead.

"The magical scent of Honeydukes wafting our direction, Hummel." Sofie answered sassily, an eyebrow cocked and a hand on her waist. Kurt laughed harder.

"You never told me the smells coming from Honeydukes were _actually_ magical." Brittany said when they neared said shop. She inhaled deeply, testing the air for something she'd missed.

They continued walking and for a couple of seconds they tried to think of an explanation. Most of them gave up. Reed opened his mouth in an attempt to explain but closed it again when he realized that any explanation would just cause a series of questions from Brittany. Derek held her hand and smiled at her. "It never came up, Brit."

"So what do the smells do?"

Derek paused, just enough time for him to formulate an adequate Brittany-esque answer. Being in the same house as her, as well as being one of her closest friends, accustomed him to any idiosyncrasies. "They lure unsuspecting students towards the shop unconsciously."

"That makes perfect sense." Brittany nodded, hopping up the stairs and opened the doors of Honeydukes before disappearing inside.

"…Well, _I _could've thought of that." Sofie said, earning a sniggle from Derek. She rolled her eyes playfully and walked into the shop. Everyone followed. They separated to cover more sides of the shop. There were so much to buy and just so little ability to buy them all at the same time. They had their own way of choosing their treats, some more impulsive than most. In the end, they would've filled a whole bag full of their collective purchases and they would always leave the store with big smiles on their faces.

"Do you think we have enough money for Butterbeer?" Derek asked as he counted his remaining coins. "I think I have enough for a small cup of it." He looked up and sighed. "Why must Butterbeer get a price hike?"

"Why must the wizarding world continue to refuse to create a spell that makes money?" Sofie pointed out with a bit of a scoff as they neared the Three Broomsticks. "The world would be so much easier if we had a spell like that."

"But that would be completely unethical." Reed said as he took out a liquorice wand. "With a spell like that, there would be utter chaos! No one would work and there would be a collapse in the wizarding economy that would subsequently lead to repercussions to the muggle world." He snapped a piece off and chewed. Kurt turned his head toward Reed, stopping midstride.

"How often do you discuss this and where?" Sofie said, shocked. The six of them were now standing in the middle of the road, indifferent to the other students passing by. If it weren't for Kurt and Sofie, they would've continued moving but they were just so honestly surprised when Reed went on like that.

"I just read the Daily Prophet a lot." Reed muttered, pushing Kurt gently to get them moving again. _It's like we're some sort of machine._ He thought with a bit of an eye roll, _one of us stops, all of us stops. Have we become _that_ co-dependent?_ "Everyone in Ravenclaw does it."

"Yeah, _everyone_." She snorted. "I never see you reading it though."

"I read it while I'm waiting for Ancient Runes to start and sometimes before I go to bed." Reed answered, matter-of-factly. They reached the Three Broomsticks and he opened the door.

"Who reads the Daily Prophet before they go to bed?" Derek asked incredulously as he walked into the Inn. He figured Reed wouldn't read such things in front of him. It just perplexed him that actual students from actual houses actually read the Daily Prophet over reading other books. _I _really _need to stop immersing myself in fiction._

"Well, you get bored while you wait for your roommate to finish up in the loo." Reed defended, still. "I have to pass the time _somehow_."

Derek pulled his friend into a hug. "Don't worry, I'm going to shower you with books and you will have better things to read."

Reed laughed and tried to push the Hufflepuff off of him. The Puff in question relented and tried to bite off some of Reed's liquorice wand. "Bugger off, Breaker."

"Well, well, well, you lot again." Madam Rosmerta announced, coming up to the counter with another empty tray drinks and a few plates. She set it down and leaned against one of the pillars supporting the upper portion of the building. "Butterbeer, I suppose."

"Oh Rosmerta." Sofie said dramatically, jumping up into a stool by the counter. "It's like you don't like us coming to this place every other week." She placed five sickles onto the counter. "And yes, a large one please, oh and put it in one of those takeaway things." The landlady laughed and shook her head.

"What about you five?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow. They asked for the same things, in varying sizes. She went behind the counter and pulled out her wand to begin work. "It's not that I don't appreciate you and your shrieking laughter every other week." The children gave out a few chuckles with hers. "Ever since my producer included these takeaway cups so they could 'drink Butterbeer on the go'," she continued with a mocking tone that obviously didn't sound anything like a normal person would sound (but they'd be surprised…) "No one seems to stay long anymore. It gets lonely too you know, I end up reading the Daily Prophet." As she spoke, her spell went awry, causing one of the Butterbeer cups to spill into the floor. "Oh bugger."

"Looks like you and Reed have the same hobby." Rachel chortled from where she was leaning on the counter. Reed smacked her with a liquorice wand.

"I figure. Ravenclaws do have a knack of reading boring things – no offense." Madam Rosmerta said, pointing her wand toward the space in front of Sofie. Another flick and the silver coins flew into the cashier in a neat row. "Of course, there _are_ exceptions." She looked pointedly at Sofie who beamed with mock pride.

"Ha! Hear that? I'm an exception." She said with an over exaggerated hair flip. "Exceptions are cool." Brittany snorted. They went out with a friendly goodbye from Madam Rosmerta and they headed back to Hogwarts castle where they would go up to the seventh floor corridor and look for a room that was warm and sunny on the inside. A room with six chaises formed into a circle, books in a pile, art materials in another, a small stage to the side, and a gramophone on another. Derek put on the new record he bought and they dumped their Honeydukes treats in the middle of the chaise circle for all of them to share. They were free for the rest of the day, having come back a little after two in the afternoon and, as usual, they just hung about, doing virtually nothing exciting just the normal things they've done for the last three years of their lives.

* * *

><p>Derek, Brittany, and Erin crept across the quiet common room, hoping no one was out and about. It was way past curfew and if they were caught, there would be some serious consequences, which is why they were doing this. They haven't done anything to break school rules and first times were always so exciting. The common room was eerily lighted with a few lamps hanging in mid-air. They could hear the night sounds of frogs, birds, and other creatures through the holes near the top of the ceiling. It was a clear night from where they were standing, perfect for a late night meet-up.<p>

Derek crawled through the passageway first and whistled when the coast was clear. Erin grabbed Brittany's hand and they crawled after him. They could see his illuminated wand at the end. "_Lumos._" Erin whispered and so did Brittany. At the end of the corner, torchlight illuminated the way, but only barely.

"Be careful, Brit." Erin whispered as they walked. "I heard these twins are crazy with their ideas."

"But don't forget to have fun though." Derek said with a grin. "No matter what other people say, I think the Tweedles are smart. If you get into some hot water, they'll get you out so smoothly, you wouldn't even notice."

Brittany chuckled. "I don't think I would." The peeked out of the nook where the entrance to Hufflepuff was hidden and saw the twins standing side by side near the kitchen painting, wearing long coats over their jeans and turtlenecks. Brittany pulled at the band holding her hair in a ponytail and shook her hair out. "How do I look?"

The redhead looked here up and down, from her fitting jacket over her dark blue dress with slight ruffles that fell right below her knees to her sneakers and nodded in approval. Brittany was a vision in blue. "Hot." Erin smirked before pushing Brittany out into the corridor.

"Good luck, Brit." Derek whispered. "We'll wait for you in the common room." The blonde nodded her head and began walking to the twins. The sound of her footsteps made the twins look up and grin massive, Cheshire grins. Her smile grew with each step. Ethan offered his arm and Brittany wrapped her arm around his.

"Good evening, Brittany." They whispered before Evan leaned down to kiss her cheek chastely, warming her face up a little bit. "Fancy a walk through Hogwarts tonight?" He asked as they led her down the corridor, careful not to rouse any of the paintings.

Truthfully, Brittany didn't think they came up with an idea like this. They didn't seem like a 'romantic walk through Hogwarts' type. But, it did seem nice, once she thought about it. The stars must be out on a clear night like this. However, it was still strange that the twins only thought of this kind of date. "Um…sure."

Ethan chuckled and closed his hand around Brittany's. "Too bad then, love."

"We're running." Evan finished and began running, fast. Ethan tugged on Brittany's hand and off they went. Their shoes filled the corridors with noise, shocking paintings awake but they couldn't become coherent fast enough to catch a good glimpse of the noisemakers. They went up the stairs, waking every light sleeping painting there was. They continued running until they reached the Astronomy Tower, none of them were out of breath just yet.

"What are we doing now?" Brittany said after a big breath in. Then she saw broomsticks – Nimbus Two Thousand and Fours – and she wondered what they were up to now. The Tweedles grabbed a broom each and gestured for her to stand between them near the edge of the tower. They leaned on the railings and she did the same.

In front of them stretched the Hogwarts grounds and the lake beyond. They were familiar with the breath taking setting by now after the numerous Astronomy lessons with Professor Sinistra. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Evan said, looking up. She did the same and the stars were in full shine that night, it would've been a perfect night for class.

"Yeah, it is." She said. Suddenly, two hands went behind her and pushed her roughly, just enough for her to tip over and fall. She screamed as she fell in the air. She couldn't see the Tweedles anymore – it was hard to see when you're plummeting to your death with your eyes closed. But then, there was laughter near her and someone caught her.

"Sorry about that." Evan whispered into her ear as they zoomed away on his broom, Ethan flying beside him. "We couldn't resist."

Brittany slapped him across the face but then began to laugh. "You two are _mental_!"

"So we're told." Ethan said as they flew around the various spires of the castle. He shook his head in mock disapproval. "Now, now, Evan, you can't fly like that." Brittany looked down. Evan had one hand on the broom and one arm around her. She didn't think there was any trouble. "She can't enjoy the view properly."

"You're right, Ethan." Evan chuckled. "You take her then." Ethan did a salute before flying down. Brittany wasn't prepared when Evan suddenly flipped the broom over and she fell again, screaming into the night. Ethan manoeuvred her onto the broom; she landed behind him, side-saddled. She flailed her arms and she was about to fall again when Ethan grabbed her arm and pulled it around his waist.

"Hang on tight." Ethan shot her a grin and she did. "Don't close your eyes, Brit." Her eyes fluttered open and she found Evan smiling across her. He tilted his head to the side, wordlessly telling her to turn her eyes elsewhere. She turned her head and rested it on Ethan's shoulders and there was a sharp intake of breath. In the cloudless night, the stars and half the moon provided light and were reflected on the inky, black lake. The brooms dipped down and she felt her stomach snuggle against her lungs, making her laugh with exhilaration. They flew near the water. Evan flew over them to change his position. He reached down and splashed some water at his brother and date. Brittany giggled and leaned down to touch the cold water, ready for retaliation. The water felt cool on her hand and then again on her face, it was quite soothing if it didn't get into your eyes.

"Don't you think we're disturbing the giant squid?" She asked them as she ducked away from another splash from Evan.

"I don't think so. We've done this a lot before." Evan answered, flying away from Brittany's handful of water. He stuck his tongue out at her.

"That's unfair, you have a broom." She glared playfully.

"Not my fault." He said, flying over to place a quick kiss on her nose. He flew further before Brittany could do anything about it.

"How often do you do this?" She asked.

"Every now and again, we don't do it _all_ the time." Ethan said, flying towards his brother.

"Yeah," Evan continued, "then it would be boring."

"Sometimes we do it just to relieve stress from the day, especially when pranking students doesnt't do enough for us." Ethan added as he shot after his brother, who flew up suddenly. He did a loop in the air that made their date shriek happily. "Having fun, Talking Flower?" Ethan asked and all she could do was giggle and nod against his cheek. He tilted to the side and she looked down to see Evan flying below them, waving at her with a bright grin. "Good." Ethan chuckled. "You can let go, you know." She slipped from Ethan's broom and there was a rush of falling before she landed into Evan's broom. It's a good thing she wore shorts instead of usual knickers.

"I'm having _way_ too much fun doing that." Brittany giggled, wrapping her arms around Evan's waist.

"You are?" Evan snickered mischievously. "Well then…" He shot a look to Ethan and they smiled at each other with understanding. They flew well above Hogwarts, seeing every building, every courtyard, every lit-up window from afar. Evan suddenly started flying with sudden twists and turns, corkscrewing in the sky. Ethan flew around them, just in case Brittany would fall. It was like a rollercoaster ride, only more dangerous and _way_ more thrilling. She even let go of Evan just to fall in the open air and falling into Ethan's broom again – something the Tweedles found quite attractive in a person.

After a while, they flew at a leisurely pace above the castle, their date nearing its end, all of them knew that. Brittany yawned and smiled at Ethan, who was flying across her. She then looked up at the pretty moon against the twinkling stars. She sighed and wished she and her friends could do this some time (which they couldn't because none of them could fly a broom on their own). She threw her head back and let the wind blow through her hair. "This is a very lovely date, Tweedles." She giggled, arching back up to wrap her arms around Evan.

"We're glad you like it." They said. She licked her lips and she smiled at Ethan before pull him into a kiss. Ethan smiled and curled his hand around Brittany's slender neck, pulling her closer by a fraction. Ethan was a really good kisser, his moved expertly against Brittany's. Her tongue brushed quickly against his teeth and entrance was granted easily. She chuckled lowly and their tongues touched and there was a sudden spark of heat that enveloped them, despite the cold wind. She placed two of her hands on Ethan's face, nearly rocking their brooms but Evan kept a steady pace, glancing back time to time to grin at his brother. Brittany pulled away and smiled when Ethan placed another kiss on her lips.

"Your lips are excellent." She said and tapped Evan's shoulder. "Let's see if your brother fares the same."

"Trust me dear," Ethan said as Evan twisted around to kiss Brittany, "you'll find that we are _very_ the same." She giggled and wrapped her arms around Evan's chest, pushing forward, making Evan laugh against their lips. They kissed to their hearts' content. Brittany nearly forgot which twin she was kissing since she went back and forth too fast. After what seemed like _hours_ of kissing in the air, they had to bring her back down to solid surfaces. When they landed, she pulled them to the side for a bit of fun. Brittany was kissing a twin; she didn't know which one anymore. While the other started kissing the back of her neck, causing a shiver to vibrate through her, she pulled Ethan closer to her. Evan's hands went around Brittany's waist, squeezing ever-so slightly. His hands quested up her torso as he continued peppering Brittany's neck with kisses. Before they really got into it, the three of them decided to stop. The Tweedles, crazy as they are, were gentlemen. Brittany simply remembered her friends not wanting her to do this even if she wanted to. Evan and Ethan each had a turn to press a quick kiss on her lips before they both held her hands.

"Let's get you back to Hufflepuff, yeah?" Evan said, still grinning.

Brittany stifled a yawn and began to nod. "It was fun…" She leaned into Ethan's shoulder and sighed. "You two are great."

"And you're a marvellous girl." Evan whispered, placing a kiss on her head.

"Shall we go out again?" Brittany asked, smiling up at Evan. The Tweedles shared another look, they didn't really have to make sure they were on the same page – they were _always_ on the same page – the look was out of sheer force of habit.

"Definitely." They said, making Brittany squeeze their hands tightly. Once they were down the tower, they climbed on their brooms again to ensure a quick trip down to the kitchens and back to Gryffindor tower. They were quiet, unlike their earlier tread up to the Astronomy tower. They stopped in front of the kitchen and Brittany dropped down from Ethan's broom. "Until next time, Brit." Evan said. They then pulled out their wands. "_Orchideous!_" Evan said and six flowers appeared on his hand. He handed them to Ethan who conjured a ribbon that tied itself around the stems. They gave it to Brittany.

"Until next time…And thank you" She nodded, her skirt swishing with her hip movement, which the twins found absolutely adorable. She raised the hand that was holding the flowers to wave goodbye. They did the same and they zoomed off into the castle.

Brittany giggled to herself, smelled the flowers, and turned to walk back to Hufflepuff's entrance. She tapped the barrels almost in a dreamlike state and she did a quick pirouette before she knelt down and crawled through the passageway. When she stood up, she found Derek and Erin curled up near the fireplace. Derek had a book hovering over him with his wand illuminating the words as well. Erin was fast asleep. "I'm back." She said.

Derek looked away from his book and grinned. The same time, Erin shot up from the floor, wiping a trickle of saliva from her mouth. "Hey Brit," Derek said, placing a bookmark into the book and grabbing it from the air, "how was your date?" Brittany skipped to them and sat cross-legged. From the looks of the bouquet she got, it was _clearly _a good date, the question was pretty unnecessary but it was the nice to know in detail. She went through what happened, gushing on every part. Afterwards, she tired herself out, lying between the two.

"We're going out again. I wonder what they're planning on doing." She stretched on the floor and got into a comfortable position, practically moaning with comfort. "Ah, the floor feels so good. Can we stay here?"

Erin chuckled and sat up again, pulling Brittany to her feet. "Nope, maybe next time. But Lord Tubbington will be waiting for you on the bed and you promised him you'd be back." The blonde shot up to her feet.

"You're right!" She exclaimed as she helped Derek up to his feet. "I almost forgot." They said their goodnights and they separated between the boys and the girls' dormitories. Sleep came easily as soon as they laid their heads on their pillows.

* * *

><p>The students, especially the Nightingales, and the teachers waited for the rival choirs to arrive at Hogwarts. The crisp air was all abuzz with excitement and intrigue because, aside from the Nightingales, none of the students had the faintest ideas who were arriving since Hogwarts hadn't held this type of competition for years now. They didn't know where to look, the sky or the water. The Nightingales stood up front; ready to greet the choirs when they come. Out of nowhere, someone pointed to the sky, shouting "Look!" And there it was, a pastel blue coach drawn by twelve large winged horses. At the same time, people were backing away from the warping air in front of the courtyard.<p>

There were suddenly twenty new students out of thin air. They were wearing bonnets and scarves with emerald green as the main colour, aside from that, they weren't uniformed. Some students rushed forward to help the struggling singers. Professor Schue and Professor McGonagall went up to greet the choir director. He had bright red hair and a tall gangly figure. He rubbed his temples before opening his steel grey eyes, feeling a little nauseated from the portkey. "Herr Karl," Professor Schue said with a big smile.

"Ah, William!" Herr Karl laughed and pulled him into a hearty hug. "It's been so long, yes?"

"Yes, yes." Professor Schue said, nodding along. Before any more pleasantries could continue, the coach landed with a muted thud near the entrance and two ships appeared from the water. One of the ships had sails catching the wind, a big red emblem showing proudly on the main sails. The other was in the form of a huge gondola, painted dark gold with the emblem skilfully carved on the front. "Ah, Durmstrang and Cross arrived at the same time." The choir directors chuckled.

"Let us not hope that they would argue about it again, hmm?" Herr Karl said, nudging his Hogwarts counterpart on the hip.

The coach doors opened with a petite woman with her brown hair up in an intricate bun and blue dress hugging her curves. The boys in the courtyard certainly did a double take. Professor McGonagall approached her with a huge smile. The lady cracked a megawatt grin and walked down the coach, her heels clacking with every step. "Professor McGonagall," she said in only slightly accented English, "pleasure to see you again." She placed a kiss on both of her cheeks. "How are you?"

"Well, my dear Cassandra." She said. "I trust you had a nice trip?"

"Oh yes, it was a wonderful ride coming here." Cassandra answered with a flourish of her hand. At the same time the Sirens started exiting the coach, all bundled up with various coats, jackets, and scarves. If the choir competition was in any way a beauty contest, this choir would _surely_ win first place every time, there was no denying it. "Where are those two idiots?" She laughed lightly, turning towards the stairs. "My students aren't used to the cold." From the distance, they could already hear bickering and the steady march of the Durmstrang students. A few seconds later, two figures appeared on the stairs, one dressed in red and fur, the other dressed in shimmering gold robes. The woman from Durmstrang had her brown hair down, waves of hair covering her shoulders. Her deathly pale skin contrasted her dark hair and the red she was wearing was probably the only way she was getting colour on her face. Her brown eyes glared at the man in gold as she exchanged heated conversation with him. The man's pitch black hair was slicked back, making it shine even with the clouds covering most of the sun.

Professor Schue and Herr Karl walked to the entrance with grins still on their faces. "There they go again." Herr Karl let out a jovial laugh and spread his arms open. "Pietro! Catrine!" The two choir directors stopped arguing with a sigh. The furred woman's expression softened and she smiled.

"Karl. William." She began to laugh. "I'm sorry you have to see that again."

"I _swear_, we surfaced first." Signor Pietro cut in immediately, earning a glare from the woman, which he ignored. He shook his fellow choir directors' hands with his tanned one, stopping to kiss the headmistress's hand, making her roll her eyes. He also kissed Cassandra's hand and she only giggled madly, smacking his arm.

"Shall we go into the castle now? Have our choirs meet each other once again before supper?" Professor Schue clapped his hands together and all the choir directors agreed that was the best idea. The Cavvan students corralled their luggage to one huge pile. Professors McGonagall and Schuester then made the luggage disappear with a neat pop. It would appear in the little house in Hogwarts grounds. They would have to change into their black and white uniforms later after the choir meet-up.

"Make way! Make way!" Professor McGonagall commanded. The students moved to the side, while some of them went back into the castle, clearing a path to the entrance. The Nightingales led the other choirs back to school, though a few members were still trickling in from all sides, having wandered off while the teachers were speaking.

"We'll see you two later, after dinner." Kurt said to Sofie and Reed.

The former was clearly distracted, standing on the tips of her toes, spying the crowd. "Where do you think Elias is?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "You'll see him at dinner, I'll even point him out to you if you like but we have to go, now." The four Nightingales pushed their way towards the group up front as Sofie called out, "You better not have your way with him, Pierce! Or I will hex you!" Sofie heard her friend laugh as they disappeared into the crowd. She turned to Reed with a delighted smile.

"Oh, I know that look." Reed teased. "That's your 'really fit bloke' look."

Sofie scoffed as the two Ravenclaws made their way slowly back into the castle. "You know me too well, Van Kamp." Reed laughed. "All of these foreign boys, I don't think my feelings can handle all of that." She ran her teeth down her bottom lip, making her friend laugh more.

"You are _such a piece of work_. You know that, right?" Reed shook his head.

"Why yes, yes I know." She grinned.

They were silent for a moment before Reed decided to bring up the subject. "So, what'll you do now that Elias is in Hogwarts?"

Sofie sighed and fiddled with the sleeve of her robe subconsciously. "I don't know; stare wistfully from a distance, too awkward to make eye contact with him, maybe?" Reed gave her an incredulous look. "Oh don't look at me like that Reed! I can't just _talk_ to him! We haven't talked for _years_, doubt he remembers me."

Reed placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze. "Don't think that, maybe he's just as caught up about you."

"Maybe he's not." She sang. "Honestly, Reed, me thinking that wouldn't be good for my _health_. I'd much rather go with the more realistic thought than with a slightly improbable but not at all impossible thought. Bear with me." She added dramatically.

"Oh, I already am, nearly four years now." She made a fist and shook it in front of him and he pretended to cower in fear right before he pretended too much and ended up falling sideways into the dirt. Sofie laughed and leaned down to help Reed up.

* * *

><p>The choir room looked bigger when they entered, probably an Extension charm Professor Schue put up before they left for the entrance. They all sat down to watch Lorien perform with the professor, as custom dictates that the school hosting the competition would have to do a number for the rival schools. It was welcoming and warm though not entirely rehearsed, with the professor on a stool, playing a guitar, and the choir captain singing in the middle. They were met with civil applause and Lorien went back to his seat. The five choir directors stood in front, beaming at their students.<p>

"Another year!" Herr Karl announced joyously, making the students cheer in response. "Yes, that is what I wanted to hear! I can't wait for this year's competition."

"We also would like to hope that all of you would continue to be amicable with each other as you were the last couple of years." Madam Cassandra said with a broad smile that further accentuated her looks. "And don't forget to have fun! It's just better if you had fun." The other directors nodded with agreement.

"Let's just begin, shall we?" Professor Schue said and he urged the captains of each school to stand and walked to the front. "We'll keep you here for half an hour just to talk and mingle. Your captains," he gestured to the students standing in front, "will be your moderators." He waved his wand and the doors opened.

"Have fun." Signor Pietro called over his shoulder before they left the room completely, the doors closing behind them. There was an awkward silence for a couple of beats before the Beauxbatons captain stepped up and said "bonjour". After that, there was just a wave of new voices talking, filling the room. All these accents overlapped each other. Old acquaintances were rekindled on the spot while there were still awkward introductions to the new singers.

"Sophie, hey!" Mercedes called, making a Beauxbatons girl turn around with a huge grin, her brown eyes lighting up as her friend approached her. She pushed her glasses up before she spread her arms wide to accept the hug.

"Mercedes! 'Ello!" She said, a French accent coating her words. She stepped to the side, met with a couple of familiar faces. "Rachel, Kurt, and Brittany." She said with glee and gave them each a kiss on the cheek. She found it strange that Kurt and Rachel were standing so close to each other. They were always on the verge of a duel every time they were in the same room, but she decided not to make comment on it. "It has been _so_ long, oui?"

"So, so long." Rachel laughed showily, making the others laugh at the absurdity of it. She shot them a look before she turned back to Sophie and presented Derek. "Oh and this is one of our friends, Derek Breaker. Derek, this is Sophia – er."

"Francois." She said, laughing a little bit while thrusting an eager arm towards Derek, they shook hands. She didn't really expect them to memorize her last name. First name on the other hand, now _that _would be incredibly awkward.

"Enchanté." Derek said, smiling.

"You cut your hair." Kurt commented, gesturing to the do. "It looks good on you."

Sophie touched the newly short black hair and grinned at Kurt. "Merci! I did not like it zat much when my mother asked me to cut it but I'm growing to like it."

"Where's Karina?" Mercedes asked, stretching her neck to look at the sea of heads in the room. "It's weird not seeing you two together."

"Oh, Karina," Sophie turned her head, spying for her best friend in the room of choirs, "she is over – Karina!" She shouted and a brunette quickly turned nearby. Sophie urged her over and Karina rolled her eyes before excusing herself out of the conversation and walking over to Sophie.

"Zis is my friend, Karina Delacroix." Sophie said and pushed Karina forward.

She stumbled a little bit and nearly fell to the floor. Derek caught her readily, having been familiar to clumsy people all his life. "Bonjour." She said to Derek. "And thank you."

"Derek Breaker." They shook hands after Derek righted her up.

"You are new, yes?" She asked, pushing down the wrinkles of her skirt.

Derek nodded. "Yes."

"Don't worry," Karina said, "nearly everyone here is pleasant as pleasant can be."

"So I've been told." Derek said, shooting his friends a quick glance. "You know, we have a friend named Sofie too. Only she has an f instead of a ph."

"Ah," Sophie nodded, "we have heard so much of zis Sofie. I cannot wait to see her myself."

"So, what's it like, riding a coach like that?" Brittany asked. "It must be horribly messy inside, with all the directions you're going."

"Au contraire, Brittany." Karina said, almost theatrically, holding Brittany's hands in hers. "It's quite comfortable, hardly a hair out of place. And the horses try very much to keep our journey smooth and safe."

"Zere was this one time," Sophie looked as if she was reliving a fond memory, "two boys from ze seventh year took ze coach out for a – how you say – joyride and did loops around ze palace." Though she was doing the fond face, she wasn't really there. She (and Karina) just fancied the two boys who did it.

Brittany gasped. "What happened?"

Karina leaned in. "No one's found out yet." She winked. "Anyway, those two are long gone now so whatever consequence would be of no issue to them anymore." She tossed a smile to the group of Nightingales but then she faltered a little bit, a blush covering her cheeks. She nudged Sophie who also looked at the direction of her gaze.

"Hello!" The Tweedles greeted, standing behind Brittany.

"H-Hello." The two girls could barely form a word with the two Gryffindors grinning at them like that. And those were their _regular_ grins.

"Oh!" Brittany said like she just missed the most obvious thing in the world. She pulled Evan and Ethan forward by the hand. "Sophie, Karina, these are my – er…"

"Friends." Ethan said as Evan winked at Brittany playfully, causing the Hufflepuff to giggle slightly. "I'm Evan, that's Ethan." Evan jumped in and as he said that, Ethan held Brittany's hand and gave it a squeeze. Sophie and Karina noticed that and sighed – the _beaus_ were always taken in the foreign schools. The fact that the _three _of them were dating was a bit perplexing they decided to shrug it off.

"Enchanté!" Evan said, shaking their hands energetically.

But just because they claimed Brittany as their own, didn't necessarily mean Sophie and Karina couldn't make fools out of themselves, giggling almost uncontrollably at the twins – this reaction made their Nightingale friends extremely amused.

"Oh be quiet you four." Sophie glared at Derek, Mercedes, Rachel, and Kurt. The four were shaking with repressed laughter. Kurt shook his head, trying to apologize with hand gestures. "Since Derek is new, as well as Evan and Ethan, I think it fair zat we introduce zem to our friends too, right Karina?"

"Oh yes!" Karina turned around and waved at some unseen friends. Her hands fell to the side and she made a frustrated sigh before waving for their friends a bit more forcefully. "Hayden and Elias would be happy to see you again!" She said, turning around. "You remember Hayden, Kurt?" Karina and Sophie grinned, so did Brittany.

"Kurt…?" Derek asked, suddenly curious at the tone Karina said. "What is she implying?"

Kurt groaned, rubbing his temples. "Remember last year when I said students were trying to flirt with me?"

"Yeah, it was _so traumatizing_." Derek said sarcastically, placing the back of his hand on his forehead to do a pose, making the singers around him laugh a bit. He did, however, note that he had been wondering about Kurt for a while… One look at his friend gave him the impression that he should just wait for the verdict.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I'm not in the mood, Breaker."

"Friends! So good to see you again!" Elias, a tall brunet with short wavy hair, pushed through Sophie and Karina, his grin wide and nearly blinding. He gave his old acquaintances each a quick hug, saying their names as he did his accent prominent as ever. Rachel then thought about how Sofie would react to being hugged by this boy and she suddenly found herself stifling a loud laugh. "'Ello, I am Elias LeNendre." He said to the new faces. Evan and Ethan subtly scooted nearer to Brittany, feeling just a little bit protective.

"Elias, you're being _exceptionally_ happy, I think the time difference has gotten to you." A boy leaning on Sophie smirked. There was a very minute trace of an accent in his voice. His brown hair was messy but it actually looked presentable on him – lucky bastard. He scanned the group and his pale green eyes rested on brown ones from the boy wearing a yellow tie. His smirk faltered a little bit but he didn't miss a beat. "Hello, I'm Hayden Rushcross." He said. His eyes never left the shorter boy.

"Hayden, get off!" Sophie poked his side, hoping he would stop leaning on her. "I am not furniture." Hayden shook himself out of the gaze and started teasing Sophie in French.

"Looks like our White Queen caught someone's eye." Evan whispered to his brother and Ethan looked at Derek. The boy blinked a few times before his eyes cast their gaze to the floor. The Tweedles snickered.

The succeeding conversation was lost to Derek. He was lost in thought as he stared at his shoes, unable to figure out exactly _why_ he was blushing that hard. He knew Hayden was fit, you'd have to be _headless_ not to notice that, but he still couldn't figure out why he was reacting like this. He glanced back at Hayden, who caught his gaze. The Beauxbatons boy smiled and Derek felt his face move. _That's not a smile you numpty! _He looked back down again. At least now he knew why he was blushing – embarrassment.

Derek _had_ read books about this, all this _romance_ business. He used to think that if it ever happened to him, he'd know what to do. But now that he was faced with the possibility of a real thing (he couldn't really say it was at the moment), he was completely and utterly clueless. Was he supposed to flirt now? How does one even begin to flirt? How was he supposed to flirt when he couldn't even _smile_ properly?

"Dere," Brittany nudged him, "you're being quiet. Is something wrong?"

_Yeah, my hands are shaking and I think I'm having a heart attack. _"No, nothing's wrong." He answered, thankful that his voice barely shook. That's when he noticed he was being obvious, being quiet and stiff. He raised his head and smiled, putting himself in the conversation again, though he tried not to look in Hayden's direction.

"You're making him uncomfortable." Karina whispered to Hayden as Sophie was regaling them with stories from Beauxbatons. More specifically that time she got inebriated at a beach party.

Hayden chuckled. "That just means he likes me too." He shot back, looking at the boy head to toe. "He's _very_ _cute_." There it was again, an unconscious glance that Hayden took a bit of pride on. Before he could wink, Derek looked away, blushing.

"You're scaring him." Karina sang. Hayden didn't give her the benefit of a response this time.

"And zen Karina –" Sophie began, already laughing.

"Oh no, shut your mouth, Sophie! Don't bring me into this." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You promised." She hissed.

"But it –"

"Don't give me that merde." She said, chuckling a little bit. "I don't care how funny it is, it's embarrassing."

Sophie stuck her tongue out childishly and Karina returned the favour. The shorter of the two returned to her audience. "Well, since my _friend_ is being boring, let us go to you! I've talked too much of Beauxbatons, I want to hear from you." She placed her head on her hand while her other arm crossed her torso so she could lean an elbow on it so she could perfectly execute a "tell me, really" look. "What's Hogwarts like?"

Kurt shook her head, amused. "It's not exciting, really."

"I'm sure Kurt Hummel could think of something." Derek teased, feeling less uncomfortable if he continued to not look at the most gorgeous boy he's seen since Julian Larson (he wouldn't say it out loud unless Sofie was around).

"There's really not anything, just the normal school things, and talking." Kurt answered, glowering light-heartedly at his friend. "Honestly there's nothing happening except for _these_ two." He jutted his thumb toward the twins.

"Nothing is proven." The Tweedles said as their grins turned ever-so mischievous. The Beauxbatons students were a little unnerved by their strange harmony. "Not even that one time we made the whole Great Hall fart last night."

"That was you?" Rachel asked, aghast.

"You really didn't know that? Really?" Kurt asked, completely dubious.

"Or that time eggs started pelting Filch for the whole day." They added, ignoring Rachel's afterthought. "But you can't prove anything." Evan said while his brother shook his head. "Rachel's right though, hardly anything exciting happens here. It's like any other boarding school, except for the magic."

The doors opened to Professor Catrine and Madam Cassandra. The moderators immediately shushed the room. "Alright," Madam Cassandra announced, "your meet-up is up, it's time to get ready for supper." She clapped and gestured for them to go out. The two teachers were greeted with a few groans.

Professor Catrine rolled her eyes. "You will have time to gallivant around afterwards, you all know that. Stop whining. Your table arrangements will be announced when you get to your designated areas." The stern voice made the students reluctantly say a quick goodbye before the choir room slowly emptied itself of students.

"Ah, it's time for us to go. We'll see you later." Karina said with a big smile.

"Let's hope we'll be seated with the Hufflepuffs, yeah?" Hayden practically purred, winking at Derek a bit. Brittany did a double take and stared at her friend with awe. He turned around with his friends after all of them said goodbye. Soon there were just a few Nightingales left in the choir room. Brittany squealed while the rest of them went to their abandoned chairs to get their bags.

"Bloody hell, Brit!" Derek said, his blush spreading to his ears. "We could go deaf you know."

"Forget about that!" She giggled as she poked Derek's stomach with glee. "Derek fancies _Haydeeeeeen._"

Despite himself, Derek grinned goofily, swatting the blonde away. "Oh shut up."

"But you don't deny it." Mercedes ruffled Derek's hair. He shied away, already feeling harassed. "You like Hayden."

"Tell us what you want us to do." Evan said, throwing his arm around his shoulder, shaking him encouragingly. "We'll do your bidding, White Queen."

"No!" Derek protested, shrugging Evan's arm off of him. "There will be _no_...," he flailed his hands, gesturing to the twins, "bidding of any kind." He sat down on his chair and covered his face with both of his hands. "Tell me honestly, how much of an idiot was I?" The severity of the situation was getting to him. He was _thisclose_ to becoming hysterical. He didn't know what was happening or even _why_ it was happening. A crush hadn't really caused him these kinds of feelings, why was it starting _now_?

"Well," Kurt said nonchalantly as he picked up his things from a chair, "when you stared at your shoes like it was the most amazing thing since the new line Doc Marten boots it was a little bit obvious." He slung his bag on his shoulder. Derek groaned. Admittedly, Kurt was a little peeved at this point, Derek was overreacting. "But you bounced back so _that's_ a plus."

Brittany put her hand on her friend's back, feeling a little sympathetic. "At least he kinda likes you too."

"Brit's right," Rachel had to admit that was still strange to hear herself say it. She pulled her bag off the chair and sat beside Derek, doing what Brittany was doing. "If he didn't fancy you he wouldn't have flirted with you like that." Rachel started to wonder what it was like, the flirting, having someone fancy them, like _really_ fancy. She sighed and before she could feel bad about herself, she stopped. _No, Rachel. Now is not the time for self-pity, you can do that later in your bed. _Rachel Berry can be individual; she didn't _need_ a man in her life. Besides, being the rising star that she is, having a relationship would be too cumbersome to upkeep.

Derek looked up at his friends with what could only be described as fear on his face. "I don't know how to react to this!" This was the very first instance of flirting with Derek. He realized that. He knew why he was freaking out. He didn't like feeling lost. He didn't like not knowing what to do. With the added pressure of the possibility of _having to reciprocate_ was alarming.

"You could start by calming down." Mercedes chuckled. "Then you can follow-up with being yourself."

Derek chortled, shaking his head. "Yeah, a snorting mess of idiocy with corny jokes and books." He was probably the least attractive of the bunch in many ways than one. Only books and his friends put up with him. But his attitude wasn't sliding down too well with Kurt.

"Do we need to bring Sofie here and slap you again?" Kurt said in a clipped tone, raising his eyebrow. "I swear, Derek, I'd do it."

Derek seemed to consider another ear-ringing smack from the Ravenclaw, that would probably get his head straight again. It might work. But then shook his head. "Two slaps a year, thank you very much."

"Then calm. The hell. Down." Kurt said with finality, patting Derek's hair. Derek looked up at Kurt and the Gryffindor gave him a sort of motherly smile he's seen his mum do after he got a proper screaming – like she didn't _mean_ to do it but she _had_ to.

"Fine." Derek raised his hands in defence with a sigh. "Any advice?" He turned to Brittany and the Tweedles, who had the most dating experience that any of them at the moment.

"Just be yourself, White Queen." Ethan grinned.

"And we _assure_ you that he's going to fall putty in your fingers." Evan finished.

Derek grimaced at the thought. "Don't you think putty in my fingers is a little too strong?"

"Why do you keep calling him White Queen?" Mercedes asked offhandedly, curious. Kurt placed a hand on her shoulder and kindly explained as much of the insanity he understood while the others continued to talk.

"I can't just _talk_ to him!" Derek said as Rachel and Brittany pulled him off the chair. "What if I say something stupid?" He added while they walked out of the choir room.

"If he really likes you he'll find it just _endearing_." Kurt rolled his eyes, leaving his conversation with Mercedes for a moment just so Derek wouldn't fall back into his somewhat hysterical state. "Remember what I said about _calming down_."

Derek took in a deep breath and nodded. "You're right, _calm_." He dragged out the last word in a long breath, having Kurt telling him that really did calm him down. He smiled appreciatively at Kurt.

"Besides, it's just one month, there's a chance nothing serious would happen." Mercedes shrugged.

"I guess you're right." Derek nodded. He began thinking how stupid he was being and he very much wanted to smack himself in the face. Maybe he _would_ let Sofie do it again at some point… Just not today. They moved on to different types of conversation, giving Derek a good distraction from his thoughts. The Tweedles and Brittany were at the back of the group, talking about their next date. Evan and Ethan stole a few kisses here and there and Brittany started to giggle so much that it was getting a little obnoxious. Of course, the twins didn't notice that, they were too busy having fun with her. Before long, they had to separate to their houses and promised to meet up again after dinner.

* * *

><p>Professor McGonagall welcomed the guests to the Great Hall when they settled down. The four tables were considerably longer, with their guests sitting near the front. The Cavvan students sat with the Slytherins, their emerald green robes matching very well with the Slytherin's colours. Below their robes were rather plain black and white school clothes – the boys wore black with white tie and a white emblem on their chest while the girls wore the same black button-up with a white bowtie and a plaid black and white skirt. The Cross students sat with the Hufflepuffs, their gold and bronze clothes going really well with Hufflepuffs. Durmstrang sat with Gryffindor and Beauxbatons sat with Ravenclaws. It was very colour coordinated and everyone noticed that, a few professors were really happy with that. The feast started immediately after the headmistress's welcoming remarks. There were different types of food from different countries, the cooks having outdone themselves in terms of feasts. Everyone had a fair share of exotic cuisine but there was considerably more of that in the home tables.<p>

"Sofie… You have to _eat_ something." Regine hissed after she noticed Sofie's plate considerably empty. She got no reply. When she looked up, she noticed Sofie just staring at the Beauxbatons and Cross students (the Cavvans were too far away and the Durmstrangs were behind her – she couldn't look in fear of being too obvious and make a complete arse of herself). "Sofie!"

"How can you eat when… so, so _fit_?" She said wistfully, heaving a great sigh at the end. "Oh, how I wish I could sing properly, I could've talked to a few of them by now." She silently cursed herself for having such a horrible voice, blocking her joy of talking to these beautiful, beautiful people. She wasn't even just looking at the boys, she was looking at the girls (not that she wasn't straight, she was straighter than a steel ruler). They were all just so _gorgeous_ that she couldn't keep her eyes off of them. "Do you think there's a spell for making one's voice better?" She asked but didn't really expect an answer. She really was just content with looking. And while she was, Reed, who was sitting beside her, started filling her plate with some food he think she might like.

"Sofie…" Alice leaned closer without being too obvious. "Can I have your attention for a quick?"

Sofie lolled her head toward her friend with a small smile. "Hurry it up, Alice, beautiful people need my attention."

"One of the Beauxbatons boys is staring at you." Alice said. A triumphant smirk appeared on her face when Sofie's dreamy disposition crumbled and turned into sheer horror.

"What?" It was barely over a squeak. She couldn't move any part of her body, she was afraid to even _look_. It was like something seized her and everything just stopped working – her mind, her arms, her head, her lungs – _everything_. Someone's been staring at her – someone from _Beauxbatons_. "What does he look like?" She managed to say. Alice turned her head to the right and Sofie snapped. "_Don't look now, bloody hell are you mental_?"

"I don't think _she's_ the mental one." Reed muttered, chewing on a piece of steak. Sofie ignored that statement because she was having a dilemma. Alice rolled her eyes and she tried to look through her periphery, at least she was gifted with good eye sight.

"He's still looking… Oh now he's not." Alice turned her head, so did Regine, Reed, and Sofie. "There, the one talking to some other bloke with swoopy brown hair." Sofie nearly fainted. The boy was Elias, she recognized that chiselled face anywhere, from the perfect nose to that jawline. _Oh dear Potter that jawline._ It was Elias, she was sure of it. Elias was staring at her. Elias was _staring_ at _her_. Could it be? Were her girly dreams actually a reality? Elias remembered her?

Reed put a hand on Sofie's back, worried. "I don't think she's breathing."

"Give her a smack on the back!" Regine commanded and Reed complied.

"Oh _bloody fucking hell_!" Sofie managed to breathe out. A few Ravenclaws around them turned to look at Sofie, a few with horrified expressions, a few with amused ones. She started breathing low and hard. "That's Elias!" And this was not happening! Not in her life did she ever think that this would be happening! Maybe in another life – another _dimension_ – but not here! Oh but it was and she should be happy but she was freaking out.

"_That's_ Elias?" Alice nearly choked on her drink. Regine started pounding on Alice's back as she hacked out coughs. When the two girls calmed down from their coughs, Regine spoke up. "He's fitter than you described him!"

"How is this happening? This can't be happening!" Sofie whispered to them, hoping not to draw attention from anyone else on the table, _especially_ the foreign ones.

"See!" Reed whispered back. "I _told_ you he might remember you!"

Sofie made a few sounds that barely sounded like anything human. It was like she was trying to speak with her friends but nothing understandable came out of her mouth. She sighed with frustration; don't they comprehend how she was having a major problem here? She slammed her face recklessly into a bowl of mashed potatoes. The people around her gasped and she stopped moving immediately. _Bloody fucking brilliant._ She thought. She heard someone chuckle and she raised a fist, hushing them quickly. "C'mon, let's get those potatoes off of you." Reed said. "Out of the bowl." Sofie slowly lifted her face from the sticky mash and she sighed. _It can't get embarrassing than this._ "_Evanesco_." Reed pointed with his hand and her face was clear.

"Cheers, mate." Sofie mumbled and slumped down as far as she could go. At least the mash potato seemed to calm her down and she was started to cut through her food. "That was embarrassing." She said. "He wasn't looking, was he?"

"I was too engrossed with your potato dive that I didn't even think to check." Alice answered, giggling a little bit but quickly stifled it when Sofie shot her a glare. "Sorry." Sofie sighed and began eating away her problems, wanting to glance at her left but she was too afraid that if she caught Elias's eye, she would certainly fall into an incoherent spell again. But in the middle of her course, she couldn't resist but sneak a glance – just one and then she'll be fine for the rest of the evening. She turned her head slightly to the left and she found herself staring straight into his eyes. Elias smiled tentatively and her eyes grew wide. She didn't move for a second before she returned to her food.

"What is it?" Reed whispered again, wiping his face with a few tissues.

"I looked and _he _looked!" Sofie said. "Weasley! His eyes are _adorable_!" There was nothing good about staying in the Great Hall and luckily a few people were already exiting. Reed turned his head to look for his friends in the Hufflepuff table. Brittany was sitting with Derek and they were both in what seemed to be a happy discussion with a Cross boy. But he managed to get Brittany's attention and she tapped Derek's shoulder. Sofie noticed what he was doing.

"We're getting you out of here for some fresh air." Reed said and he began pointing to Sofie.

"What is it?" Derek mouthed.

"Sofie!" Reed replied and he tried to do an action that signified "needs to breathe" only to end up looking like she needed to vomit. Sofie stood up when a group of Hufflepuffs stood up nearby and Reed followed.

"I'll see you two later." Sofie said to Regine and Alice. They waved just before they reached over to get a second helping of dinner. When Reed and Sofie left, the plates vanished with a small pop, back to the kitchens with all the other finished plates. Kurt and Rachel must've noticed their friends getting up because when they reached the entrance, they were already waiting for them.

"Hey, where's the fire, Sof?" Kurt asked as Sofie trudged out the Hall hastily.

"_On my face and in my soul_!" Sofie shouted, throwing her hands up in the air, not giving an explanation of what she was talking about.

Rachel stopped, surprised at the abrupt outburst. "Even _I'm_ not that dramatic." She said before the shock wore off and she walked after the Ravenclaw. All of the others followed her out. She didn't stop walking until she was out in the courtyard, sitting on the stone steps of Hogwarts castle. "_Now_, are you going to tell us?" Kurt asked.

"Bloody Beauxbatons. Bloody Sirens." Sofie muttered, wrapping her arms around her just to block out some of the cold. Her friends started to sit beside her on the steps.

"Reed, care to explain?" Rachel said patiently, smoothing down a few wrinkles of her skirt.

"Sofie and Elias had a moment –"

"It was barely a moment." Sofie cut in. "We just looked at each other and I felt like a part of my soul embedded itself on my seat when my heart dropped down to my _arse_." She said in one breath.

"That's one way to put it." Reed shrugged. Those closest to her, Reed and Rachel, started to try and comfort her. Rachel was combing Sofie's hair down while Reed was rubbing her back. It didn't really do much but it was something. They sat there for what seemed like an eternity until Brittany spoke up.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked in a soft voice, like she was afraid Sofie was going to go crazy on them.

"I'm not cut out for this." Sofie said. "I'm not cut out for this! I know I've been talking about him for a long, long time and stuff but now that he's _here_ I don't know what to do! It's like I've been given a role in a play and I don't know my lines. Hell, I don't even know how to _act_!"

"I feel your pain." Derek said, moving over to sit in front of Sofie on the lower steps. "This is just so…_blagh_."

Sofie nodded. "_Blagh_."

"What's so wrong with being yourself?" Kurt asked, again slightly annoyed by the way his friends were acting.

Sofie turned to him, finding his statement rather stupid. "Fat lot coming from _you_. 'Oh they won't leave me alone; oh they're so annoying, oh blah, blah, blah my needs'. I'm sorry but not all of us have unwanted attention from attractive foreign people." Kurt bristled and began to glare at his friend.

"Hey, let's not fight." Brittany squeezed herself between them, in a desperate attempt to pacify both parties.

"Brit's right." Reed added. "So Kurt's probably part Veela and these two," he gestured to Derek and Sofie, "have a bad case of the nerves when it comes to attractive French boys – everyone's different."

"When did _you_ get so diplomatic?" Derek asked, standing up sounding hysterical but the way his lips twitched upwards sort of told everyone he was just joking around. "I don't know you anymore!"

"Shut it and sit." Reed said sternly and Derek just sat back down with not so much as an eye roll. "What I'm trying to say is, Kurt's right, you should be yourself, it's probably the best way, I mean, if they don't like _you_ then they're not really worth the time, right?" Sofie and Derek looked at Reed like he was spewing gold. He was a bit surprised by their undivided attention that he began to stammer a little bit before forming another sentence. "So try your best to calm down and let things happen. If they talk to you try to say something even if it's partly useless, but mostly just calm down."

"We'll try." They mumbled as they cast their glances to the empty courtyard bathed in the light of an almost full moon. The two friends stayed quiet, mulling over their choices. On the one hand they could lie down and crawl into themselves until the foreign menace is gone and on the other hand they could take it like the fourteen year olds they are (that's _three years until they're of age_). It was such a hard choice to make.

So Derek decided to move to another subject. "When did you get so smart about all of this?" He turned to Reed, sounding a little bit accusatory.

"It's common sense, mate." Reed answered, not unkindly, just simply stating a fact. It was very clear to him how they should react but he didn't know he would fare better in any way but he'd save that thought for some other time. "It's not smart, my head is on properly. Something I can't really say the same with you two." He smiled apologetically but his two friends seemed to understand it now that they were far, far away from any French distractions.

"These boys, they're going to kill us, Derek." Sofie leaned on Derek's head, sighing. "We're going to die of feeling overload." A gust of wind blew at them and a flurry of voices filled the entrance. The six of them looked back and found the Sirens walking out of the Hall in clean groups of three or four. "C'mon before we get trampled on by their beautiful little feet." Her friends chuckled and began standing up from the stairs.

"Hopefully nothing happens tonight." Derek whispered and Sofie nodded with desperate agreement. They stood at the side, waiting for the wave of foreign students to walk out of the school, except for the Cavvan students, whose house was near Hagrid's hut. It seemed like the last of them walked out, Derek and Sofie sighed with relief, their bodies simply weren't ready for an encounter with Hayden and Elias.

Unfortunately, they didn't have the time to get ready at all.

When they rounded to the door, they were greeted by four people. "Oh hello! It's nice seeing you again!" Karina said enthusiastically from the Hall entrance. Kurt and Rachel subtly urged their seemingly petrified friends to get into the castle and meet the remaining Sirens in the middle of the corridor.

"Is zis the Sofie you have been telling me about?" Sophie said, looking at Sofie with a huge grin on her lips. She offered her hand. "Bonjour, I'm Sophia Francois, ph not f."

"Pleasure." Sofie surprised herself when she said that. She also surprised herself by shaking the Beauxbatons' hand. She thought she couldn't move or do anything with Elias around. _Be calm_. She reminded herself and shook herself out of it once the handshake subsided. Sophie shot her a knowing look before she introduced herself to Reed. Her eyes wandered to the taller boy with wavy hair but only for a bit, she didn't want to turn into a spaz right away, it has to happen gradually.

"Sofie, Reed," Rachel cut in after the Reed and Sophie handshake. "These are a few of our friends from Beauxbatons," she started to gesture to them one by one, "Sophie, Karina, Hayden, and –"

"Elias," He said, grinning openly. "We 'ave met before, in Paris." It wasn't really a surprise, Sofie didn't shut up about a French boy she'd met and Elias didn't shut up about an English girl he'd met. Their friends shared a quick knowing look before turning their attention back to the two. Derek and Hayden cast each other a sidelong glance, a smirk from the older boy and a twitch-of-the-lip from the younger – at least there was a _bit_ of progress.

Sofie gulped quite audibly. Inside, she wanted to die at the same time dance at the same time run into Elias's arms and just stay in those arms there forever and ever because even under his robes, she could tell how well-defined his arms are. But she stayed frozen. For a second, Elias thought she must've forgotten about him but then she opened her mouth. "Hi, Elias. It's been a rather long time." She was so clearly flustered but Elias didn't mind. It was so nice to know that she remembered him.

"We'll just go." Kurt said helpfully. Having friends as an audience would be nerve-wracking, he figured, so he began ushering his friends away. Karina got the same idea with Sophie and Hayden. But the boy escaped his friends' clutches and walked over to Derek's direction, introducing himself properly. Karina caught Reed's eye and did a shrug, as if saying, "let's just leave them to it". Reed nodded. They left the two pairs, Sofie and Elias still in front of the Great Hall entrance, Derek and Hayden beginning their slow walk to Hufflepuff.

Outside the Great Hall, two people stood a decent distance to each other, unspeaking at the moment as a large group of Hogwarts students left the Hall. Their friends had left them for privacy. Elias was the first to speak.

"'Ow are you?" Elias said, completely ignoring his friends' attempts to exit _quietly_. "I am so sorry I could not get in touch, zere are a lot of Sofies in ze world after all." He chuckled awkwardly. When he first saw her in the Great Hall, he had this perfect scenario played out in his head, as well as things he wanted to say to her but now that they're here, everything was flushed down the head-toilet.

Sofie chuckled as well, flicking her wrist to dismiss the apology. "Pssh, it's fine." _At least you're here now. Shut up, brain._ "My family and I left in a rush, I barely got to say goodbye." She smiled slightly, finding the strength to look at his face and not start giggling. Now that they were speaking, there was no going back. This was it, she was really doing this, actually talking to someone she liked for a long period of time. "Sorry about that, by the way."

He made an amused sound. He pulled out his wand and flicked it to the corner, a bench appeared. He urged Sofie to come sit with him. "It is fine. I understand families. Zey can be a little – what's the word…?"

Sofie almost forgot what they were talking about. Not only was he totally hot, he was a really good wizard. But she unlocked her mind again, remembering the sentence before. "Overbearing?" She offered, sitting down beside (but not _really_ beside him in fear of a heart attack) Elias. It also made her uncomfortable, sitting near someone she barely knew. And he was really attractive, has she mentioned that before?

He noted the distance and he didn't try to move closer. "No." He looked into her eyes (the bluest he has _ever_ seen in his life). She blushed lightly and turned to face the corridor to avoid the shy feeling but with Hogwarts students walking out the Hall, Hogwarts students she _knew_, she had no choice but to move her gaze downward.

"Annoying." She said again, still gazing down.

Elias smiled at her, understanding how strange the situation must be, sitting with a boy with classmates spilling out, looking at them. He leaned on the back of the bench, saying a nonchalant, "No."

"Tyrannical."

Elias laughed, somehow this reaction made the whole situation lighter. Sofie leaned on the back of the bench, laughing a little bit as well, almost mimicking the boy's position. "Something like zat, but 'tyrannical' is too strong."

"I figured." She chuckled, turning her head to glance at Elias quickly in an attempt to really engage in the conversation. "So…" she rubbed her arm absently, "are you singing this year?"

There was a strange twinkle in Elias's eyes, like he was happy that Sofie asked about it. Not to mention, that twinkle was quite adorable. "Yes, but not like last year, I had a solo. Zis year I have a part in a group song."

Sofie shrugged, turning her head back to the floor. "At least you're not just singing in the background."

"I suppose." He nodded. They were silent for a moment before Sofie chortled out of nowhere. "What?"

"It's nothing really." She smiled. "I just remembered Rachel – you know Rachel, right? – she's a little…overwhelming with the singing. I think she'd actually die if no one was there to hear her sing." Elias laughed again. "No, really! It's true! Every year she goes to every singing competition there is. But it's a bit better now, you know, last year was horrible." She rolled her eyes at the sad moment. Elias couldn't take his eyes off of her. "I think she's much more willing to accept the fact that she's singing background – not that she's singing background now but… I'm not going to tell you any more, you're the enemy."

Elias shook his head. "Smart girl."

"Duh, Ravenclaw." _Did I actually flip my hair and say that? What's wrong with me? Why is my body betraying me like this? This is absurd! You're my body! You have to work with me! _But, like her friends, Elias took it in stride and realized that it was just a joke. They shared a smile with eye contact and Sofie would _swear_ that her heart literally stopped at that moment. She blushed wildly and hoped that there wasn't enough light for Elias to notice how hard she was blushing. She looked away.

"Zat is a bit unfair, no?" He smirked and if Sofie saw that she would _die_.

"How so?" She asked, finding that same area of the floor she was looking at earlier.

"I told you zat I am singing in a group number, I suppose you should tell me what Rachel is singing."

Sofie rolled her eyes again, crossing her arms. "You have a point, Smart Arse." She chastised herself for saying that but she was surprised that his good humour was at the same level of her friends. She felt her stomach go twist with delight. _Good humour mmmmm… Bloody hell, Sof. Stop being such a right pervert! _"She's doing a duet with Kurt but that's all I'm going to say… Also, you're all going to get your arses kicked because that is a _spectacular_ duet." They were silent again, but this time for a longer stretch of time. Sofie scrambled and all she came up with is "your hair looks sexy pushed back". It was laughable if it wasn't so damn embarrassing.

"It's nice seeing you again, Sofie." He said so suddenly Sofie almost fell off the bench. She turned her head stiffly toward him, saw his smile and then looked away. The blood was rushing too fast into her face that she would probably explode any minute now. She _tried_ to reply but all that came out were wheezes and squeaks. He found her flustering pretty charming. He stood up and all she could think about was _gosh he's tall_. "It is getting late. I think it's time for us to go back to our – how you say – houses, yes?"

"Yes." She stood up a bit shakily and the bench disappeared from under her. "You have got to teach me how to do that." She chuckled, looking at the empty space where the bench was.

"Maybe some time. It's going to be a long month after all." They shared another smile and Sofie didn't think she could stand up any longer. "I'm walking you to Ravenclaw…So we can talk more." _He's being awkward, that's adorable! _"Lead the way." She shuffled forward and Elias walked with her. _He's walking me to Ravenclaw. I don't think I can handle that! I'm walking funny, stop walking funny! _Calm, the advice of her friends rang in her head. She nodded and started ignoring her self-conscious thoughts even though they were banging against the prison walls of her brain.

"It's – uh – nice to see you too – again, I mean." _Get your shit together mouth!_ She looked up at Elias and he was smiling wide. Then she noticed something. "Is that a dimple?"

Elias didn't reply for a couple of seconds. "Oh! Ah –" He scratched his left cheek self-consciously. He was distracted by Sofie's sudden reply that he forgot where he got the scar. "It's – no. It's just a scar."

"Where'd you get it?"

"That's a secret."

"Shut up, just tell me."

"My father beats me?"

"Really?"

"No."

"Screw you, LeNendre." They laughed and Elias said a rude word in French as a witty retort to Sofie. And at that moment everything turned easier for the both of them. It wasn't entirely awkward as they thought it might be. It was like they were continuing their conversation on the Eiffel Tower, ignoring the two year gap of that conversation. Sofie still couldn't look at him for more than thirty seconds but that's fine, at least they were verbal and not just two people walking together in horrific silence.

* * *

><p>"That's all I've got." Sofie said while she reclined on the chaise in the Room of Requirement the next afternoon during their lunch break. They snuck out a few snacks and put them in away in Rachel's bag with the Undetectable Extension Charm that they passed around using a Summoning Spell. Then they walked up to the seventh floor so they could have a nice, private talk with each other. Their chaises formed a circle around a round table with a bunch of food and plates covering it. The Room had big wall to ceiling windows and outside was a scene of a perfect meadow in a beautiful spring day as supposed to the actual autumn weather on the outside. Sofie reached over and to the table and pierced a piece of chicken with her fork. "We didn't really do much, walking to Ravenclaw, I mean. Just talking and it's like I didn't want him to shut up, he kept asking me questions and I'm like 'your accent is sexy'."<p>

"You said that?" Brittany asked, her mouth half full of chewed up bananas.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Sofie waved her fork around, it's a wonder how her chicken didn't slip off. "Of course not, if I said that I would've died." She put the chicken in her mouth. "Oh my Lovegood, this chicken is _so good_." She turned to Derek. "Now that I've given my say, let's move on to this slag over here. Derek, share with the class about your late night excursion with a French bonbon."

Derek smacked her arm. "You're making it sound sexual." But he sighed and leaned on his chaise, staring at the ceiling that the Room bewitched to look like a sky full of fluffy white clouds. He took a bite of his apple with a loud crunch, chewing thoughtfully. "It was really nice actually. He was really nice and we talked about books. _Books!_ We practically have the same books! Except for a few here and there – he's a half-blood, so he has both wizarding fiction and muggle fiction. He visits his relatives in America every summer, that's why his accent isn't that strong." He took another bite of his apple. "And his eyes…_His eyes_."

"Woah, Dere, don't have an orgasm." Sofie joked and they all laughed, Reed nearly choked on a chip. Derek tried to continue his statement above the laughter and the hacking.

"No! You know what I mean – his eyes are beautiful. Pale green with little flicks of brown." Derek sighed again. "I could stare at them…All night long." He took another bite of his apple and fell silent, reliving his long walk back to Hufflepuff house.

"That's it?" Reed asked, curiously after taking a sip of tea.

"Mmm…" Derek stared at the ceiling. Hayden was just wonderful, simply wonderful. He's all Derek could think about the whole day. From his eyes, to his mouth, to his voice, to the way he walks, to the way he smiled at him. He didn't even notice how quiet the Room went when he stopped talking. He couldn't wait to see Hayden again.

"I think we lost him." Rachel chuckled and poked his cheek. "Earth to Derek, earth to Derek."

"Yeah?" He turned to Rachel, dreamlike.

"Was that all?" Reed asked again, leaning on his hand, grinning at his friend who was getting all googly eyed over a boy. "You kinda spaced out."

"Sorry." Derek blushed and laughed lightly. He raised his head to meet his friends' eager expressions, immediately telling him to tell them the rest of the walk back to Hufflepuff. "He asked me out. When we're going to Hogsmeade…I've got a date!" The girls made a collective sound of excitement and they jumped into his chaise. Kurt and Reed watched with amusement as the girls did a group hug with Derek. They even reached down to grab a few strawberries.

"What are you doing?" Derek said over his laughter. "It's just a date!"

"Date with Hayden the French gay boy!" Rachel said, excited for her friend. "Not to mention your first date _ever_!" She squealed and hugged him tight. "Our baby's growing up."

"Sod off!" Derek laughed. "We'll probably just end up talking about books again."

"Ha!" Reed exclaimed. He pointed at Derek with a strawberry dangling from his fingers. "Like you wouldn't enjoy that!"

Before Derek could defend himself, Sofie cut in. "Oh Hayden, _please_ tell me more about your _books_." She said rather provocatively, jumping back to her chaise, running her hands up her thighs, making everyone laugh.

"What are your _preferences_?" Kurt added with a wiggle of his eyebrows, raising one of his legs up in the air. It was only with them that he would even dare to do something like that. They were being exceedingly silly that day and he enjoyed it. Reed and Sofie were already in a laughing fit, not a sound came out of their mouths and they were clapping like mad sea lions.

"Do you smell your books, you do, don't you?" Brittany purred, running her finger up Derek's arm, which he swatted away with a laugh. "I like that, it's hot." She whispered in Derek's ear and he pushed her away with his hand on her face. She was giggling as she walked back to her chaise.

"_Read_ to me, Hayden. I love listening to you say words from books." Rachel added, pretending to faint onto her chaise.

"Tell me about _books_ that I _haven't read yet_." Reed was shaking with laughter that he couldn't get the words on one go. "Yeah, give me plotlines and overviews."

"You five are asses." Derek shook his head, giggling despite himself.

"But you love us!" The chorused raising whatever they had in their hands. "To Derek for his first date." Sofie said, as she held her chicken on the fork. She stood up on her chaise and raised it as high as she could. "May he have hot gay sex soon afterward."

"To Sofie," Derek followed picking up a book, doing the same thing as his friend. "For managing to talk to Elias without severe brain damage." Sofie stuck out her tongue at him.

"Cheers!" Brittany exclaimed gleefully. Sofie and Derek jumped off their chaises to meet everyone near the table.

"You lot are _mental_." Kurt said as he touched his cup of tea with a banana, a book, a fork with a chicken, a half-eaten strawberry, and a headband. He sat back down and drank his tea, nearly emptying the cup.

"And yet you're hanging around us." Sofie laughed before finishing her piece of delicious chicken. "Face it, you're mental too." She pointed the fork right at him.

Kurt nodded with a huge smile. "Hmm, probably." He said, finishing his tea. The subjects moved along lazily during the short hour for lunch before they separate to their classes. Rachel talked about her duet with Kurt with so much excitement that she even started singing in the Room, basically forcing the Gryffindor to sing with her. Sofie began taking pictures when the two began dancing their parts to imaginary music. But before long, the bells rang and they began cleaning the plates in a rush and stuffing it into Rachel's bag. They ran out, laughing out loud, their shoes echoing in the empty seventh floor corridor. It was only when they reached the sixth floor when they could hear other students milling about. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs went to one side and the Gryffindor and Slytherin left for the other, they promised to see each other after dinner.

* * *

><p>"A five, six, seven, eight!" Lorien shouted as music started playing in the background to Thomas's solo. They had to dance to fill the background and to give the performance some more oomph. Thomas sat on one of the seats near the door, watching intently as his choir mates danced to the bridge area and the final chorus of his solo. Some of them had the steps right while other's nearly tripped off the platforms.<p>

"Watch your steps, Nightingales!" Professor Schue announced when three pairs nearly fell down. He surveyed their steps and their blending. They were in their work-out clothes, robes and other school clothes were discarded in favour of more comfortable wear – loose shirts, sneakers, and sweatpants. The pairs flitted in and out of the practice stage, singing in the background. The whole choir didn't have to dance all together or that would distract from the solo. Rachel accepted her fate, not dragging herself through the routine; she _did_ have a duet so she had no right to complain. The dance wasn't all too complicated though there were a few lifts perpetuated by some of the Nightingales.

During the last formation, Tina, a Ravenclaw, nearly tripped over the platform. If it weren't for Mercedes, she would've thrown a half of the choir off. The Nightingales did one final note, filling the platforms and they fell silent for the last lines of Thomas's solo. The music stopped and Professor Schue started clapping. Lorien smiled and congratulated the choir. "Water break, ten minutes."

Derek lay down on the cool stone floor, reaching feebly for a goblet of water. Brittany picked up the goblet and handed it to Derek before she lay down on the floor with him. "Thanks." He said, emptying the goblet in a few gulps. A few people sat beside them, Kurt, Rachel, Mercedes, the Tweedles, Tina, and Blaine, resting their sweaty bodies (Kurt would glance at Blaine's direction from time to time but he would look away after a second of brain-falling-out syndrome). It had been a long hour of non-stop practice and the sweat was already cooling them off. Slowly, the room got cold, probably a seventh year doing a subtle cooling spell to help them relax. The room filled with chatter as nearly everyone rested, some students insisted on reviewing the steps in the first musical number.

"I wasn't too heavy, was I?" Rachel asked Derek, who had to do a lift with her during the bridge of the last song.

"Not especially." Derek smiled reassuringly. "I'm just a little tired after carrying you for the fifth time this hour." He exhaled loudly. "Singing and dancing at the same time was harder than I thought." But, he wouldn't say this out loud, he was actually very thankful for the hard steps and the ever-so slightly military drills because sweat meant losing weight and losing weight meant getting closer to a lean body. But he wouldn't say that out loud.

"It'll get easier in the second year, trust me." Blaine said, patting a heavy hand on Derek's arm. The other Hufflepuff shot him a grateful smile. "Anyway, I can't wait for the special effects this year; it's going to be big with all the powerful performances. Like actual blinding lights with that high note you and Tina do," he said, gesturing his goblet to Mercedes and Tina, "then they explode and everything goes to black. Then Kurt and Rachel come out." A few people nearby couldn't help but admire the childlike wonder that appeared on Blaine's face while he was speaking.

Tina nodded at the imaginary scene. "That's not so bad." She smiled wider. "It's very dramatic with the sudden darkness and these two coming out and blowing them away with that duet."

Kurt laughed. "I don't think we could blow away anyone after that group number."

"I bet after Thomas performs, the whole Great Hall would be in ruins." Derek joked, earning a few chuckles for his efforts. "And by the way, Blaine, you better mention that thought to Professor Schue, it's fantastic."

Blaine smiled smugly, a blush was faintly colouring his cheeks. "Thanks, Dere."

"Will Hogwarts really be ruined?" Brittany asked apprehensively as she sat back up for Evan to give her back a message.

"It's just a figure of speech, Brit." Ethan said, taking one of her hands into his and started messaging her fingers. A few Nightingales couldn't really fathom how the three of them worked, but it had only been the first week of their budding relationship, however, a few understood completely, namely Derek and Kurt. It wasn't hard to notice that the Tweedles were practically one person in two bodies, how they move, how they speak, how they grin, everything was identical. And, truth be told, they were quite adorable with each other.

"Okay." She said softly, smiling at Ethan. "Lower." She said to Evan, who immediately complied, earning a happy moan from Brittany. "Right there." Derek and Rachel stifled a giggle. They were quite obvious and had everyone, except Brittany, red with quieted laughter. She didn't seem to notice. In fact, she had her eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of Evan's hands on her back and shoulders and Ethan's hands on hers. She liked them very much and she wondered when they'd have sex. She then wondered if she should ask her friends. _It's barely been a week_, she reminded herself, _maybe they won't allow it._ Of course she'd have to be absolutely sure so she'd corner them about it after supper.

The ten minutes of rest were up before any of them knew it and they turned to their captain and director for some direction. Lorien joined their ranks and looked expectantly at Professor Schue. "Alright," the choir director said, "from the top of _Diamond in the Sky_ then we move to _Out There_ so Thomas can practice with all of you behind him." The Hufflepuff in question rubbed his arms self-consciously, shaking a little bit with nervousness, but quickly got himself together after reminding himself that he wanted this. Well, his sister wanted it…But he wanted it too! "I will be taking notes for corrections and then we can finish this practice with a run through, how's that?" There was a collective "yeah" with a few shrugs signifying that the Nightingales were up for anything. Their choir director smiled. "Great. Then we can talk about the effects and costumes afterwards." Professor Schue said and with the flick of his wand, all the chairs moved to the sides, giving a clear stage. He sat down on one of the chairs near the door so he'd have a full view of everything.

"You heard the man, from the top of _Diamond_!" Lorien announced and everyone snapped to the first position – Georgia Truman, a seventh year Slytherin, was in the middle to start the song and everyone else stood around her in a sort of casual pose, ready to be roused after the first two lines. Practice went smoothly for the first number, it being in their repertoire since the start of practice. They had it down fast. The last number was a little rough around the edges, still, since the dances behind Thomas were just choreographed when the song was picked and Professor Schue suggested the dance parts. ("We just _had_ to sing with him when he first sang that song." Santana complained when it was announced. She was part of choreography. "Damn him for singing one of the most beloved songs in the world and being so bloody good at it.") But it wasn't anything a little polishing and more practice couldn't fix. They had three weeks, after all. After one last go at _Out There_, the Nightingales were given five minutes to catch their breath and drink water. Thank the elves for self-refilling goblets.

"Now, Lorien and I will be splitting all of you up." Professor Schue announced. "Those who are interested on having a hand at special effects, sit with me, and those who are interested in costume design, sit with Lorien, that way we'll cover more ground tonight then we can move on to dinner."

It was like the Nightingales were split into half, there wasn't a clear distinction between girls and boys since a few of them had been in the choir for more than two years now. Derek moved to special effects with Brittany while Rachel and Kurt walked to costumes. "Do you think Reed's mother would be willing to send us some fabric?" Kurt asked Rachel as they walked toward their captain.

"That would cost us a shiny galleon." Rachel answered, silently wondering what Kurt had in plan. It would be extravagant, that's for sure. "A lot of them." She added as an afterthought.

Kurt looked deflated. It seemed like his plans for shiny dresses and brightly patterned coats would have to wait for another time. "You're right…Next year then?"

Rachel smirked. "You bet, when we're co-captains."

"Lovely…" Kurt shared her expression. It was so clear that they were shoe-ins for the captain positions. They were responsible and they were amazing together and they could be very bossy. And of course Lorien would pick someone who is (are) competent and had a few years ahead of them because they heard him talking about picking someone who could stay longer than two years. Kurt believed that he and Rachel were the next captains. He refused to think otherwise, even though a few of the fifth years had a chance to take over (Blaine, Logan, Santana, Artie). "I've got this great idea with satin but it can wait."

They sat down in one corner of the choir room and Lorien sat down, facing them. He had his eager face on. "Alright, let's talk about costumes, shall we?" He pulled up a notepad and a quill, then those two things started floating right beside him. "Any suggestion is open just as long as it'll fit our price range and won't need heavy headdresses." He turned his eyes pointedly at Kurt.

"It just slipped out last year!" The Gryffindor said, defending himself. "And it would've looked fabulous anyway."

The Nightingales talked for half an hour before they were content with the costume, which were going to be made as soon as possible, and the stage effects, though that would need some more finessing in their parts. Everything had to be exact or it'd turn out to be a disaster of a set. Once they were done, they had just enough time to get to their houses, stop smelling like dry sweat, and get to dinner without having to make a grand entrance to the Great Hall.

* * *

><p>"Smile, bitches!" Sofie shouted as everyone stood outside of the castle with their Beauxbatons friends. She took a few pictures in a second and then she nodded with approval. "Another pose!" She called and they laughed, changing their positions. It was the first weekend that the schools were allowed to visit the village. Hayden stood beside Derek, conspicuously wrapping his arm around the shorter boy and Derek blushed like a loon. The Tweedles were with them as well, going out with Brittany and all that. One might think that they were just going on another normal date but the way they glanced at each other from time to time would say otherwise. After another series of shots, Rachel laughed and asked her to stop.<p>

"Come join us, Sofie!" Elias gestured to her. "Let somebody else take the picture."

Sofie shook her head. "Strictly behind camera – my face."

"No, I will take ze picture." Sophie said, walking towards the Ravenclaw while she took more pictures. Sophie covered her face. "Stop!" She laughed.

Sofie scoffed. "Never!" But she just didn't want her picture taken next to Elias! She'd _pale_ in comparison and she wasn't going to let that happen. Besides, when she looked at Derek looking like a tomato, she didn't want _that _to happen either. However, the way her friends were urging her to come forward, her friends _and_ Elias, she didn't think her "I'm the photographer, you whores" bit could resist any more attacks.

Finally, Reed moved forward so suddenly. "Jude! Jude!" He called, making the Ravenclaw turn around. He had a camera of his own now, an older model compared to Sofie but he seemed happier that he actually _had_ a camera. He excused himself from Blaine, whom he was walking with though no one really paid them any mind. From a short distance away, Sofie groaned. Escape was futile.

"What is it, Reed?" Jude asked, smiling at his fellow Claw.

"We need you to take a few pictures of us, please." Reed answered and they walked toward the group. Sofie was already grudgingly taking her camera off and offered it to Jude, glaring at Reed with a small grin.

"You're going to pay for this, Van Kamp." She muttered in a mock-menacing tone. Her friend just rolled his eyes. They walked back to the group. Brittany nudged Sofie not too subtly toward Elias and it was like her friends were conspiring against her (they would _then_ begin to defend that they were conspiring _with_ her). Elias smiled at her and kept his hands to himself, unlike his friend who was so all over Derek. He was just happy to be standing next to her, all that public showing of affection a non-entity in his mind as of the moment.

Jude aimed the camera. "Ready?" He said and clicked just one picture. "Another one?" The majority of the group nodded before Sofie could escape. _Spoiled again!_ There was a bunch of shots, kind of like Sofie. Maybe it was the cold air or the big breakfast invigorating them but their poses became more absurd as the clicks passed. Even Sofie, who should've been behaving herself – she promised herself she would behave! – was losing herself to her friends' brand of crazy. Even the Beauxbatons were slowly easing into it, the girls _far more easily_ than the boys. Finally, Jude was laughing too hard to even aim properly.

"I guess that's all for right now." Sofie laughed and walked toward Jude. "Thank you for your time." She said, taking her camera back.

"Don't mention it. I had fun." Jude said, still laughing. He turned around and Blaine was waiting patiently a proper distance away, smiling at him. "I better go." Sofie glanced at Blaine, who was totally fit and one of her many crushes (or boyfriends, depending on how much sugar she had that day) and she looked at Jude with a quirked eyebrow. The photographer blushed and waved a goodbye. Sofie stared at him, her eyes conveying the sentence "I sense something going on there" and Jude continued to smile in reply.

She turned around and said, "Let's go to Hogsmeade!" The foreign students were looking unreasonably excited, too excited for a visit to a wizarding village. Once you've seen one, you've seen them all. There really wasn't to see except the Shrieking Shack and even _that_ lost its novelty after five minutes. Hogsmeade couldn't really compare to the pristine white sand beach of Beauxbatons or the quick train ride to the city near Cross. But they were _truly_ excited to be visiting the village, talking about how "quaint" and "home-y" it would be.

"Trust me," Kurt said, "you'll get tired of it before you even leave." Everyone chuckled.

"I doubt that." Hayden countered, pulling Derek closer by the waist. "I think it's going to be a wonderful experience." The Hufflepuff just looked down at his shoes as they walked and then looked up at Hayden with a smile.

"We should go to Honeydukes; they have really nice – erm – sweets." His friends glanced at him, partly amused at his flustered-ness. When they arrived at the village, they slowly separated – the singles, the potential couples, and the threesome (for the lack of a better word). The six of them did, however, promise that they would meet at the Room of Requirement after dinner just so they could talk about the happenings of their (Sofie and Derek's) first proper date and Brittany's status with the Tweedles. Then they would proceed to freak out because these were _milestones_ leading to their eventual _adulthood_. It was a pretty huge thing for fourteen year olds.

As promised, Derek brought Hayden to Honeydukes. It was filled to the brim with other students but that didn't ruin the moment. Hayden stood near the other boy, unable to tear himself too far as Derek pointed out his favourite sweets. "These are my favourite." Derek held up a pack of cauldron cakes. "I know they aren't that uncommon but I just really love them." He was about to put the pack back on the shelf but decided to buy some for himself. "I don't know why, though. If only this shop sold Nutella, then I might never leave." Hayden laughed as they moved toward the other shelves.

"It's a wonder how this store doesn't get sold out." Hayden commented. "If it was up to me, I'd buy the whole store in one go."

Derek snorted. "Yeah, if you had enough money."

"Good point." He smiled and squinted at a curious moving pack. "What are…BatMallows?"

"Oh my God." Derek gasped and took the pack from the shelves. "You haven't _heard_ of BatMallows?" Hayden shook his head with a small smile coming to his face. "You poor, poor Frenchie! You need to try these immediately. I am buying you some." Derek tried his best to be casual, like Hayden was just another friend. You know, a friend who had snogging potential but a friend still. When they exited the story, Derek was already opening the pack of BatMallows, directing the flying sweets into the other boy's mouth.

One of the treats flew slowly right in front of Hayden and he held it between his fingers, waiting for him to finish the one in his mouth. "You know," he said after he swallowed, "I bet I can catch five of these without using magic or my hands." He ate the one in his hand.

"Is that a challenge, Monsieur Rushcross?" Derek teased as they walked aimlessly.

"Depends, _cherie_." Hayden grinned at him and Derek blushed wildly though he wouldn't dare turn into a dithering little mess. "How much are you willing to pay?"

"How's ten sickles?" Hayden winked, already backing away. Derek smirked, putting his hand into the pack. There it was, the sense of camaraderie. It was really like they were friends, Derek thought. If friends called each other "cherie" and try to flirt with you.

"You're going down, Hayden." Derek threw a mallow into the air.

His eyes tracked the flying object, trying to keep his eyes on it while it almost blended into the dark grey autumn sky. BatMallows don't usually fly high and they try to fly to the nearest mouth or hot cocoa, but Hayden didn't need to know that. "I hope you have ten sickles!" Derek called and Hayden just laughed, running toward it as it flew lower. He opened his mouth and took it in his mouth, raising a finger in the air, wiggling it at Derek smugly.

"I hope _you_ have ten sickles." Hayden shouted back. Despite himself, he found Hayden's smugness was really attractive on him. But he wouldn't point that out. He threw a couple more in the air, willing them not to go to Hayden's face. Watching the Beauxbatons boy run around the village as he followed was amusing to say the least. He found himself thinking about the whole thing. About how _this_ was an actual date. He was basing this from the numerous books he'd read. This whole thing was good (even if he was losing badly, Hayden caught the two in one mouthful), this happy, smiley game they had. There was that tell-tale heart thumping feeling when they were near each other. Not to mention the way their hands brushed slightly while they were walking to the village, _surely_ Hayden felt that too.

These were the things he read and if their first kiss would be described the same way (fireworks, sweaty palms, electricity), then he would be convinced that they were on their way to a beautiful love affair that would transcend the ocean that would separate them in a month's time. Derek didn't want to think about that but he knew it was inevitable. But he was very optimistic about it. He wasn't optimistic about the game though, after Hayden caught the fourth one so easily a few seconds after he threw it out.

"That was too easy." Hayden said, sauntering toward Derek, who was glaring at him. He was in the middle of chewing on the fifth BatMallow.

"I demand a recount!" Derek laughed, hitting Hayden with the pack, which squirmed and tried to fly away at contact.

"I don't think that's the right thing to ask for." The taller boy smirked.

"I think you cheated." The Hufflepuff said, thrusting his chin up, purely out of fun and not because there was even an ounce of conviction in his statement.

"Are you really that stingy that you can't give up ten sickles?" Hayden leaned close, making the other boy lean away, blushing. Derek stepped back a little, Hayden was enjoying the effect he was having. Thank goodness for his one-fourth Veela-ness.

"No…" There was a thought that popped in Derek's head, a movement. If he was brave enough… He could? It was a second full of inner debate that made Derek's palms sweaty and his cheeks redder. One side of his brain said _do it do it do it_ while the other side said _don't don't don't!_ There was a slow motion moment, he cursed the world for not having a book – fiction or otherwise – to teach him about these… "date" and "flirting" things. He might have to write one. "I just don't like losing sometimes." Derek said, leaning toward Hayden's face. His heart was beating on his chest. The other boy smirked. He was willing to play then.

Nevertheless, Derek grudgingly shoved some sickles into Hayden's hand. "Tell you what, you do it – five mallows – and I'll give your sickles back."

"Deal."

* * *

><p>In the Three Broomsticks, his friends, Reed, Rachel, and Kurt, watched as they drank some of their Butterbeer, Sophia and Karina having found company with some of the Cross students, but they did promise to meet up in an hour. The three watched as their friend had fun with some boy from Beauxbatons. They watched as their friend continued to look flustered every time Hayden spoke to him. "It's almost disgusting, don't you think?" Kurt chuckled, taking another sip.<p>

"I think they look cute." Rachel commented as Derek tried to jump to a hovering marshmallow with wings. "Derek's clearly smitten with Hayden; I don't see how that's disgusting."

"I mean how he's practically falling into Hayden's arms." Kurt added. He wasn't jealous (okay, he was, a little bit) but he couldn't help but feel a little hesitant about the two. Hayden was a bit affectionate when it came to touching and Derek, it being his first time and all, was falling too fast too hard. "I'm a little worried." Kurt admitted finally as they watched Derek and Hayden laugh. "Aren't you?" He asked, turning to his friends.

Reed looked unsettled by what Kurt was saying, sharing the same thoughts. "I am." He answered. "But, I know Derek. He… He won't be stupid enough to _think_ he's in love after a month!" At least, that's what he hoped. "And I'm sure Hayden's sincere. He looks at Derek like he's a…a shiny new broomstick or something. Surely that must count for something." Reed took another sip of his beverage to calm himself down before adding, "Same goes for Sofie, if we're to broach the subject."

"I'm not worried about Sofie." Kurt said with an eye roll. "I don't exactly know what goes on in that tiny head of hers but I'm quite sure she can handle herself. But Derek…" The Gryffindor turned his head to the window, just in time for him to see Hayden press a kiss on Derek's cheek, making his friend gape with surprise. "Derek gets carried away with his emotions and I'm pretty sure he's spent too much time with Brittany because, if you haven't noticed, he doesn't exactly have his head on the right way sometimes. And don't tell me I'm being mean because I know you know it's partly true." Reed and Rachel shared a glance that said "of course they noticed".

"_You're_ being observant." Rachel muttered, finishing her drink. "I'm worried, yes, but we can't do anything about it except hope for the best. Derek wouldn't appreciate it if we go all Mum on him, you know that." The brunette sighed and looked at the two boys in front of her. "I just hope, for Derek's sake, that Hayden is romantic enough to go long-distance."

"Assuming they actually get strong feelings for each other." Reed said, feeling anxious. Derek and Hayden had already walked away from eye-shot and he didn't know where they went. The last thing he wanted to see was Derek sad and broken. Rachel looked at him, first with a glare but then it softened into a look of agreement. Who's to say it won't work out after the first week? Reed finished his drink and smiled. "Where do you want to go?"

Kurt chuckled and stood up. "I'll order up some more Butterbeer, being part of the single half of the group made me want to keep drinking and share stories about being single with my friends. Drinks are on me." Rachel and Reed laughed, raising their mugs up in the air.

"To the singles!" Rachel announced and the two boys clinked their mugs together.

* * *

><p>Derek took Hayden around the village, pointing out the shops and the people who own the shops (all the while not forgetting the single spot on his cheek where Hayden kissed him when he lost a couple of marshmallows). Sometimes he made a comment about his friends and him, what they did or what happened in a particular area. They kept close, the two of them, walking so close that their sides brushed from time to time, both of them feeling a little spark in between. Hayden tried to keep the conversation going since Derek was having moments of brain hiccups as he floundered for a word when Hayden purred out a playful line from time to time. He found that completely endearing while Derek found it embarrassing. By the time it was three in the afternoon, they were winded out from walking and Hayden brought them to Madam Puddifoot's to rest their legs. Derek didn't dare mention that the place was a haunt for happy couples. <em>Well…technically we were a happy couple… We're happy, I think. And we're two people so that constitutes as a couple. I have to stop thinking about this too much. Hey, at least you're not talking to yourself out loud. That's right. <em>

"What'll you have, Derek?" Hayden asked, snapping the boy out of his thoughts. His gaze immediately landed on those pale green eyes and he immediately forgot what he was about to say, his mind too preoccupied with those eyes. "…Derek?" Hayden chuckled.

"Wha –" Derek looked up to see the waiter, who looked a little too chipper, like he was just _dying_ to hear what the Hufflepuff was going to order. "Oh! Uhm, could I get tea and some macaroons, please?"

"Sure thing, sir!" He said, jotting down the order and taking the menus away as he left, leaving them on another table. Hayden and Derek looked at each other, sharing a giggle.

"I'm guessing he's new?" Hayden inquired, balancing his head on his hand, looking at Derek intently. Derek nodded, turning away self-consciously; he still got a little nervous when Hayden looked at him like that. "I had a lovely time going around Hogsmeade." He said almost affectionately.

"I felt the same way when I first came here." Derek replied, moving his attention back to Hayden. "Now it's just another village to pass the time in. Not that I've been to a lot of villages. I've been to every shelf in my parents' bookstore, though I'm not entirely sure of the wizarding section. Reed, you know my friend Reed, he gets lost there a lot and it's really hard finding him so I don't usually go…" He glanced down and bit his lip, the smile that wouldn't leave was starting to hurt but he couldn't stop smiling. "I talk way too much, don't I?"

"I don't see why that's a problem." Hayden answered, nudging his shoe against Derek's. "You seem so lively about everything." Derek couldn't _believe_ how much he was blushing that day. "But," Hayden leaned back on his seat, "if you want I can show you how much I can talk."

"Is this another bet?" They shared a laugh while their tea arrived. "Thank you." Derek muttered when the waiter set their tea then he spoke to Hayden again. "Because the odds aren't in my favour today."

"I like you, you're funny." Hayden said and it took Derek off guard. He said it. He liked Derek. He said it! _Oh God, I haven't prepared for this!_ He made a sound that he didn't think sounded human. Something between a cough and a gulp. He grabbed his cup of tea and took a long sip. Hayden was just watching him, smiling slightly. Derek put down the cup and tried to compose himself, his mind telling him to say something back.

"I-I," Derek stammered, his macaroons and Hayden's apple tart arriving in front of them. "Thank you." The Hufflepuff said again and the waiter grinned as he bowed. Derek took a macaroon and bit into it in a fruitless attempt to be calm. _Say it say it say it say it_.

"I like how you like books, just like me." Hayden continued, putting some sugar in his tea. "I like your lovely, _lovely_ eyes. And I like the way you smile every time you look at me." He said and Derek pushed his plate of macaroons toward the other boy, in hopes of prolonging his time of thought. Hayden understood the silence completely and took one. "Merci." They smiled at each other.

"I like you too." Derek said, surprised that he managed to say that out loud. "You're sweet and nice…And your eyes are pretty." _Oh bloody hell I did _not_ just say that._ Hayden laughed. _Oh but I did._ Derek never wanted anything more than to make a hole, jump in that hole, and close that hole. But Hayden nudged their feet together again and everything seemed to be alright. He didn't have any idea what he was doing but he was _glad_ Hayden didn't seem to mind taking the lead.

"These are really nice macaroons." Hayden commented while he munched on another bite of the treat.

"Yeah, I know. If I haven't blown all my money on Honeydukes or Butterbeer, I'd blow it off on these macaroons." Derek chuckled, taking another one off the plate. "So, tell me, what do you do when you visit America?" They spent the afternoon just talking, which, to an outside watching, would look boring compared to the Tweedles taking Brittany around the forbidden forest and getting chased by Acromantulas or Sofie and Elias strolling into the Shrieking Shack without anyone noticing, where Sofie showed her astounding knowledge about the famous Harry Potter and his friends. Derek and Hayden just talked but it was the nuances the two did that made it matter. Hayden would touch Derek's fingers very lightly with his own in the middle of the conversation. Derek wouldn't take his eyes off of Hayden's until he thought he was staring too much. Hayden's eyes would glance down at Derek's lips every other minute. Derek would wrinkle his nose when Hayden said anything even _mildly_ amusing. It was all these little things that made the afternoon so special. They almost didn't want it to end. Derek was falling hard and he wasn't fully aware of it.

* * *

><p>As the month progressed, the tiny relationships began to flourish in the group. Hayden and Elias made it a habit waiting outside Sofie and Derek's classrooms to walk them to their next classes. With both boys on higher levels (both sixth years), they had a freer schedule than their counterparts. The two Hogwarts students were clearly head-over-heels for the ones from Beauxbatons, Derek more so than Sofie because while Sofie could snap herself out of Elias once the boy was gone; her friend wasn't able to shut up about Hayden. It got on his friends' nerves from time to time (except Brittany, who giggled with him) but there was that underlying worry of when Hayden leaving. They really didn't want to think about it. Sofie was very reserved with Elias, they barely even touched except for times like a tap on the shoulder, a pat on the head, a nudge, but he didn't mind. Meanwhile, Derek was completely affectionate with Hayden, and vice versa. They even started snogging when the second week ended (their first kiss was everything the books described it to be, in Derek's personal opinion which he shared to his friends soon after).<p>

As for Brittany and the Tweedles, they were a very happy-go-lucky…threesome. They were an adorable group if everyone was honest, no matter how strange it might've looked. The Tweedles were quite playful with their talking flower, taking her on exciting dates and shameless flirting in the corridors. However, though the Tweedles were the best boyfriends a girl could have, Brittany couldn't really get a hold on being in a relationship. Sometimes she found herself wishing they weren't together because she fancied a few blokes around which made her feel really bad for even thinking it. She went to her friends for advice but all they said was to break-up with the twins but she didn't want to do that because she didn't want to hurt them. In the end she tried to focus on the practices and the dancing, hoping to take her mind off of it (which was always too easy).

The practices were letting up, thankfully. The Nightingales having mastered their set by the middle of the second week and Professor Schue, admiring how well they've done, gave them extra time off, only having two practices a week. It gave the choir members time to focus on other things like class and Quidditch practice.

They were back in the Room of Requirement after one tiring afternoon in Hogsmeade. The six of them were sitting in bean bags, facing the floor to ceiling windows on one side of the wall, staring lazily as the illusions of cotton candy-like clouds drifted languidly across the pale blue sky as supposed to the actual near-black sky outside. Music played from a gramophone behind them as they slumped down. Their cats and Erik, Reed's owl, went around the room to satisfy their curiosity.

"I think I'm going to break up with the Tweedles." Brittany nearly mumbled, almost sleeping. She turned her head to face her friends, who were looking at her intently, waiting for her reason. "This has gone on too long and I don't think I can be a relationship kind of girl. At least…not right now. I hope they don't get sad."

Rachel, who was closest to her, held her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I'm glad you're letting them go, Brit. You three deserve to be happy." Brittany made a face with a sigh. The twins _were_ happy but _she_ wasn't, not completely, she wanted to go around and have fun with different people and not just the twins. "I know, I know." Rachel continued. "But they won't be sad…for long…right, Kurt?"

"Oh, they'll be sad." Kurt replied dutifully, finding honesty the best course of action. Brittany whimpered. "But I'm sure they'll bounce back. It's just…they _really_ fancy you, Brit. They won't shut up about you." His blonde friend blushed and smiled, which he returned. "I room with them, they'll be fine, trust me."

"I just don't want to hurt their feeling, that's all." Brittany mused. It was silent for a moment before she spoke up again. "They talk about me?"

"Just as much as Derek talks about Hayden." Kurt chuckled. "And _that's_ saying something." Derek blushed with embarrassment; he didn't mean to talk about Hayden all the time. He just couldn't get the boy out his head at all. It was like every waking moment since meeting Hayden was just filled with _Hayden_. He knew he was getting on his friends nerves so he didn't speak up at all. Kurt looked at his watch. "And he'll be arriving here in an hour."

"Try to stay pure, Dere." Sofie joked, patting the Hufflepuff's head. He tried to swat her hand away. "No, seriously. Be safe and don't let him pressure you to doing anything and do you want some snacks? A condom? Let me know. God love you."

"Bugger off." Derek evaded one more pat, hitting his head with Reed's. "Sorry." The two friends rubbed their heads a little, leaning back into their bean bags. "We're not going to shag, yeah? It'll just be an innocent little date in –"

"An intimate little room with no chance of _anyone_ walking in, with a hearth and a nice little fire going on, and strawberries, and whipped cream, and chocolate." Sofie interrupted, grinning madly. "And a little chaise to share in the middle of it all."

"It's gonna be innocent, that's that!" Derek defended, looking positively red in the face, his friends laughing at his expense. The funny thing is, he _was _thinking about all those things Sofie just mentioned. Not that sex part. Just the food and the hearth and the chaise. He suddenly had a quick mental image of him and Hayden just holding each other near the fire and he nearly spaced out before Rachel spoke up.

"So are you in love with him?" She asked, squeezing herself into his bean bag. Derek considered it for a moment as his friends waited for an answer. Was he? He hadn't thought about it that much except for when he was reading a book involving the subject and tried to correlate it to him and Hayden. He constantly asked himself if _that's_ what he thought was happening to him – the heart palpitations, the sudden bursts of happiness when he saw Hayden, the flustered feeling he got when Hayden flirted with him, the constant flow of fireworks in his head when they kissed. Was it that? It probably was, it probably could be, because as much as he had read love stories and romance books he hadn't had the slightest idea what he was dealing with, if it was real or not real.

And so he said, "I don't know…Maybe?" Maybe – because he wanted it to be real. He wanted it to be one of those relationships that lasted forevermore. He wanted it to happen. So he chose the answer that he was more comfortable with because saying "no" would be horrible. It'd be much more horrible if Hayden didn't feel the same way.

The girls squealed with delight, giddy over the possibility of Derek's first love. Reed and Kurt grinned, not knowing what to do since they obviously couldn't squeal like that. Derek buried his face in his hands, his friends were making a spectacle of it and he was very lucky they weren't doing this in public. They were talking wedding plans. The Breaker-Rushcross wedding had a wedding singer, suit designers, decorators, and a long line of best men and women. It was set to happen on Beauxbatons grounds ("You know," Sofie said, "if they let us.") Before long, they vacated the Room in favour of some plans that night.

Derek stood nearest to the door, already feeling nervous. "I hope you all have a nice night." His friends smiled at him.

"I hope _you_ have a nice night, Mr. Rushcross." Sofie wiggled her eyebrows, making Derek smack her arm with the book he was holding.

"Speak for yourself, Mrs. LeNendre." He retorted with a smirk of his own, making her turn slightly pink.

"I'll make sure Lord Tubbington doesn't eat Alec's share of the food." Brittany said, hefting the cats up without much of an effort. Compared to Lord Tubbington, Alec was very tiny. "Have fun on your date. Say goodbye to Derek, Alec." She added, bouncing the cat that was on her right arm. He just meowed at his master and blinked, Derek patted his head. After saying the last goodbye, they turned around and left the Hufflepuff to think up the new shape of the Room.

"Do you think it's love?" Kurt asked as they walked down the stairs, Derek well out of earshot.

"It could be." Sofie admitted. "We don't really know what goes on when the two of them are alone. But I'm still a little bit worried for him though. He might be so in love but we don't know if Hayden feels the same way." She turned her head up to the seventh floor and sighed, wondering what would happen in a week's time. Not just to Derek but to her because Elias would be leaving too.

"You're right." Reed said, nearly stumbling down a step. "I think we're all a little worried but Derek'll pull through, right?"

"Let's all hope so." Kurt nodded. "So," he turned to Sofie, "what are you and Elias doing tonight?" She began to blush harder and she started walking faster.

Rachel gasped. "You are not escaping us that easily, Salvadair!" She climbed down the stairs, hoping to catch up to her friend. Sofie only laughed and began shuffling down in a quicker pace. She didn't want to tell in fear of incessant teasing that she didn't want to endure at the moment. Besides, she's going to _have_ to spill it the day after, the way Derek and Brittany would. She was going to have to spill how she walked out of Hogwarts, coat and scarf ensemble ready for the cool night with the moon big and out and uncovered by the clouds around it. She was going to have to spill how Elias was (sexily) waiting at the courtyard, grinning as she walked over to him. She was going to have to spill how _near_ they were walking and how she would've fainted if it didn't have huge implications on her part. She was going to have to spill, for the hundredth time, how hot his accent was.

* * *

><p>But was she going to have to spill what they were about to talk about? She didn't know yet. She'd have to think it over. "We are leaving next week." Elias said thoughtfully, looking up at the shining moon. Sofie stopped in her tracks for a moment before continuing her walk. A few students from different schools were out on the shore – couples and friends around a floating flame, talking loud and clear.<p>

"So it seems." Sofie replied as Elias caught up with her.

"Do you… want to talk about it?" He asked cautiously, unable to think of Sofie's reaction. Whatever time he had with her, he tried to understand what went on in her head. But whatever he thought of she would always do something different, it was both exasperating and exciting.

"If you want to, you brought it up." Sofie muttered, disliking being put on the spot quite suddenly. Elias sensed the agitation in her voice and stood in front of her, with a sheepish expression.

"I apologize." He said. "I-I did not mean to offend you, it's just zat…" He ran his tongue across his lips, words escaping him completely. Sofie looked up at him bravely, though her knees were about to give in under his gaze. "I – how you say – uh –" He rubbed his scar absently before deciding on speaking in French. "Tu me trés plais. Plus n'importe quejamais." Sofie blushed a bright red, unable to believe what she was hearing. That someone as gorgeous as Elias would say that he liked her like he'd never liked anyone before_. _And in _French_. It was so romantic, she was sure someone was bound to write it in some sort of novel (knowing Derek – if he could get his head out of his Hayden cloud – he actually might). "Say something," he said after a second of silence, "please?"

"What's there to say?" She said, her tone bordering on Rachel Berry-esque hysterics. "You're leaving and I'm staying." She looked down at the soft sand under her shoes and looked back up. "Except maybe that I like you too," Elias grinned broadly, leaning down to kiss Sofie's cheek as a reply but she looked back up, making him lean away as quickly as he could. "But, Elias…" She was having trouble the correct words to express the jumble of thoughts in her head. Damn him for bringing it up. Damn him for saying those words that made her want to fall into the ground and have a seizure. Damn him for making her feel so exposed and she did not appreciate that at all. Damn him for putting her on the spot.

"I will stop you zere." Elias said kindly as he held on to Sofie's shoulders briefly to calm her down. "Let us forget what I said and enjoy ze night, yes? We can discuss it next week. I am sorry, again." Sofie sighed a huge breath out of her mouth, relieved that they wouldn't have to talk about it until next week. She was still annoyed that he even brought it up in the first place but what can she do? It's his decision.

"It's okay. It's okay." She said, mostly to herself. She shook her head and smiled a little at Elias. "Let's talk about something else. Then…erm – next week."

Elias nodded. "After the competition?"

"After the competition." She agreed and they continued walking along the shore. "So…what do you think about unicorns?"

* * *

><p>Two bodies were against each other on a velvet couch, the younger boy at the bottom and the older one taking the lead. The room was dim but the light from the hearth was just enough. The bowl of chocolates was empty and a lone strawberry was left in the other bowl. Derek's hands were threaded through Hayden's hair, unwilling to have anything stop their lips from touching. Hayden's hands were resting on Derek's waist, pressing down just enough for the boy to keen softly, making their lips vibrate. Hayden already had his shirt off, giving Derek the exciting job of exploring every muscle, every expanse of skin with his hands. The Hufflepuff blushed at the contact, realizing (in a very brief moment of coherent thought) that this was the farthest they've ever gone. He was supposed to ask Hayden about what's going to happen after they leave next week. They were supposed to have a mature discussion about it. But then <em>this<em> happened. It could've easily been Derek's fault for he pushed it further and further back, telling himself, _later, not now… Wait until it's quiet and bring it up._ Since he kept putting it off, Hayden slowly took matters in his own hands, coercing Derek into their long and heated tangle. Derek seemed not to mind and forgot all about his worries and gave in.

And there they were.

Suddenly, Derek felt skin against his. Hayden was pushing his shirt up, exposing his waist. His moment was broken as his eyes shot open and he started wiggling and protesting from the touch. He can't touch that part, _no not that part, I'm still a little fat at that part, please not that part_. It was not okay. Hayden was going to notice how fat he was and he wasn't going to like him anymore. Derek cringed. Hayden stopped immediately, sensing Derek's distress. "Qu'est que errone_?_" He wondered what was wrong. It came out of nowhere that he hadn't had time to ask in the correct language – he even forgot that Derek knew how to speak French. Derek shook his head, embarrassed at his reaction. Hayden wanted Derek to tell him so he held the other boy's hand comfortingly and with the other hand he touched his cheek. "Dites-moi." He almost pleaded, feeling a little concerned, wondering what was bothering the Puff.

"Don't touch me there I'm fat." Derek blurted out. It was the first time he verbally announced that he thought he was still fat after all the weight loss and those compliments. He still had insecurities that he couldn't escape from and new ones that arose when he realized he still jiggled a little bit when he moved. He turned away from Hayden, feeling so ashamed that he was this some sort of insecure mess of a person. It was silent and he could hardly bear it.

But Hayden held his chin gently and turned his head to face him. He smiled softly, pressing a quick, chaste kiss on Derek's lips. Derek stared with wonder into Hayden's pale green eyes that beheld him. "You are not fat, cherie." He leaned down to kiss Derek again, a little less urgently and a little more affectionately, like he was trying to convey all those words he didn't know how to say through action. Derek succumbed to the kiss, wrapping his arms around Hayden, pulling him closer. Hayden pressed down on Derek, urging him lower and lower into the couch, letting his hand touch the skin he visited before Derek's mini-breakdown. The younger boy squirmed, still a little uncomfortable but Hayden squeezed a part of his waist, causing an involuntary gasp. Hayden was happy with the reaction.

* * *

><p>Brittany, going through the words of Kurt, Reed, Sofie, and Rachel, walked along the edges of the Forbidden Forest with the Tweedles. She was debating on whether or not she should do it before or after their night's excursion to look for a wild unicorn (or a werewolf, whichever came first). This was the most she'd thought about something since the end of her previous year at Hogwarts. "You're being awfully quiet, love." Ethan observed, making the group stop right at the foot of a particularly massive tree. The Tweedles eyed her with worried expressions and she suddenly felt bad that she almost pushed her plans back. But she couldn't. She didn't want to have to hurt them but this was necessary for she didn't feel the same way as they did. She knew it. "Is there something wrong?"<p>

"No…Yes…No." She stammered and got a smidge annoyed with herself for being so slow with her mental processes.

Ethan chuckled. "Which one is it?" Evan inquired, taking her hand in his.

She sighed and looked up at them with a sheepish smile. "I'm breaking up with you." She hated how their faces fell so quickly when she said those words. "I-I just don't like you like you like me, which is totally marvy by the way, but I don't think I can bear the thought that I might be leading you on…" There, she said it. She squeezed Evan's hand and she was glad that the other blond squeezed back. "I'm so, so sorry, Evan…Ethan."

The Tweedles shrugged and both of them gave her a quick hug. "It's okay, Brit… We understand." Evan said. "I guess we can't really force you into something you're not into." He continued as his brother nodded solemnly, something so rare that she was lucky she saw it. Ethan leaned down to press a friendly kiss on her cheek. "Too bad though, you were a really good snogger."

She laughed. "So you're not mad?" She felt relieved, she thought they would. Or at least they would be completely devastated by it. Guess she was wrong again but this time she was glad she wasn't always right.

"Of course not!" They assured in unison, grinning like their earlier selves. "That's absurd." Ethan said.

"_More_ than absurd, it would be downright asshole behaviour if you ask me." Evan seconded, wrapping an arm around Brittany's. "It's fine, Brittany."

Ethan did the same action on Brittany's other arm and they grinned down on her. "At least we can stay friends. What went through that pretty little head of yours that we would be angry if you broke up with us?" She was getting confused when they began bringing her to the woods, then she suddenly thought that this was revenge. The fearful look on her face caused the twins to laugh brightly, contrasting to the dark feel of the forest.

"We're not going to do anything to you." Ethan cited. "You're already out with us and we're going to find unicorns –"

"– or werewolves –" His brother added joyfully, like finding a werewolf was _better_ than finding a unicorn.

"Girlfriend or not." He finished with a wink. Brittany laughed loudly, throwing her head back and letting the boys pull her into the night's shenanigans. She'd have to remember this to be the best break up in the world, trumping all break ups. Even if they weren't "together" anymore, Brittany had a feeling that this was the start of a wonderful, wonderful friendship.

* * *

><p>"I apologize again about earlier, Sofie." Elias said as he walked Sofie up to the Hogwarts entrance. A few students were turning in as well, it being late and nearly curfew. The Ravenclaw stood over the boy she had scarily real feelings for – as in, not just a normal crush – and sighed. It was a wonderful night for both of them, they joked, they bantered, they looked like proper friends. But when it came to it, the serious stuff, she didn't know if she could really handle it properly since she didn't know what the <em>bloody hell<em> she was doing.

"It's fine, Elias… I've been thinking about it too, it's depressing." Sofie admitted but the tone of her voice made the boy laugh lightly, something she was glad about. "But…can we not? I don't think I can…you know…"

Elias nodded. "I understand."

* * *

><p>Derek panted hard before crying out in the vast room, Hayden bringing them both over the edge and into a deep pit of pleasure. The Beauxbatons boy's fingers dug deep into the Hufflepuff's back, moaning against his pale shoulder, not wanting to spoil the other's delicious sound. Derek couldn't believe what he had just done, what he had just <em>experienced<em>. Hayden melted on him, completely tired out. He began to laugh after a moment's rest. He tilted his head up and smiled at Derek, pressing a quick kiss on his lips. "You're beautiful. Okay?"

"Okay." Derek managed to squeak. Hayden's smile continued as he shifted around, waving his wand and cleaning them up. He moved easily with Derek, even if the younger boy was a little disoriented with the recent happenings. He tucked them neatly into what seemed like the perfect cuddling position. It was silent except for the crackling of the fire.

* * *

><p>The Tweedles and Brittany burst out of the Forbidden Forest, breathing hard and sprinting fast. They fell into a heap of bodies in front of the bridge that lead back to Hogwarts. Evan was the first to laugh, followed by his brother, when they got their wits back and running. "How is it," Ethan began, "possible that we get chased by the same Acromantulas from <em>ages<em> ago?"

"I don't know but that was bloody exciting!" Brittany said between giggles.

"You're right." They agreed in unison. Their hearts were still beating fast and their stomachs hurt from laughing. They were obviously too happy for people who recently escaped certain death. One by one, they rolled to face the sky, which was suddenly clear of clouds from where they were lying. Brittany remembered their first date and thought of it fondly. She was glad they were still friends.

* * *

><p>"You should get back to your coach, curfew's in a few minutes." Sofie said quickly, moving her head away from Elias's eyes. The boy nodded slowly, unable (unwilling) to take his eyes off the girl whom he fancied ever-so deeply. In a surge of bravery, he grabbed Sofie's hand and gave it a quick, reassuring squeeze before bidding her a good night. Sofie's whole body seemed to blush at contact and she barely moved a muscle once he began walking away in fear of actually fainting. She leaned on the castle door's arch for support, wishing her friends were around to talk her through walking and breathing once again. Alas, she was on her own, watching Elias walking away in the moonlight. <em>That is a very sexy walk<em>. Sofie thought in a momentary spark of coherence.

Before he left the courtyard, Elias stopped and turned around, happy to see Sofie still standing at the door (though he couldn't see how she was practically grasping for support). He lifted his hand for a wave and she found herself waving back even if her brain was slowly turning into mush. _Oh bollocks, _she thought after he had left the courtyard, _how am I going to answer the riddle to Ravenclaw tower now?_

* * *

><p>Brittany walked into the Hufflepuff common room, floating with exhilaration. It was a truly lovely night for her. It hadn't even spoiled when Terry, Derek's roommate, with her new prefect, Sam Evans, walked up to her with expressions of worry. "Brittany, where's Derek?" Sam asked immediately. She just looked up at him with a smile and began to open her mouth. But the answer stopped. She wasn't supposed to talk about the Room… And whatever Derek did wasn't allowed to get out of their circle of friends unless it was allowed. She closed her mouth again, relieved that she remembered.<p>

"I don't know…" She said. "But I'm sure he's fine." Then she continued merrily to her dorm room, leaving the two boys with bemused looks on their faces.

"You said she'd know." Sam accused, glaring at Terry. The younger boy raised his hands in defence, backing away from his prefect.

"I thought she would! She's one of his best friends after all." Terry argued.

Sam groaned, running his fingers through his hair. "And here I thought being the prefect of this house wouldn't give me problems."

Terry shrugged, patting his prefect on the back. "It could be worse. Derek probably fell asleep on the library floor again or he's out with Hayden… You know Hayden, right?" Sam looked at Terry, realization coming to him slowly. _Of course_ Derek would be with his boyfriend (was that what they were?) it should've been the most obvious thing. But it wasn't like Derek not to arrive before curfew; the Hufflepuff was scared to death about breaking the rules. Sam looked at the passageway to Hufflepuff house like he was willing Derek to arrive any second but that seemed completely fruitless. He sighed and turned to Terry.

"Get back to your room, curfew's upon us." Sam said and Terry nodded. "I'll be sure to bring him back if he shows up in the corridors while I patrol." The other blond nodded again before saying good night and walking to his dorms. At the same time, his co-prefect, a tall, curvy red head came out of the girls' dormitory, smiling at Sam.

"Still no Derek?" Melissa Sparks asked casually as she sashayed to the other.

"Nope." Sam answered tiredly as they walked to the passageway.

"He'll turn up." She tittered as she bent down to crawl into the passageway. Sam compulsorily looked down to see her bum sticking up and what a big bum it was. "Derek's one of the nicest boys, let's just give him one night to be bad, yeah?" Her voice echoed back to her blond counterpart. "Sam?" Like many girls before her, she didn't know the full extent of her attractiveness.

"Huh?" Sam mumbled before shaking himself out of it. "Oh – uh, yeah! One night."

* * *

><p>Sofie was granted entrance to the Ravenclaw tower but only because she had Reed, Alice, and Regine waiting for her outside of the door. She was still visibly shaken and red when she arrived, causing Reed to fret almost annoyingly before her roommates calmed him down. They asked Sofie what happened to her and hardly seemed surprised when she said "He touched <em>my hand<em>." This came from a girl who neared hysterical when she found out that one of her many crushes stood beside her. The common room was empty since the curfew passed a minute ago and the prefects were already out on patrol. Regine and Reed went to their rooms to get Sofie something to calm her down. Reed got hot chocolate while Regine got her some sugar quills. Alice stayed behind to try to get Sofie down from her Elias cloud.

After a few spells and a few sparks, Reed had a steaming cup of hot chocolate for Sofie, who, with Alice's help, managed to talk about what had transpired with minimal flailing but with a lot of strange sounds. "I don't even know what to do!" She nearly wailed at the end of it all. "He wants to 'talk' about him leaving but I don't want to. I mean I want to but not _really_! This is turning way too serious and I feel so vulnerable. It is _crap_. _Merde_, even!" She took a big bite of a sugar quill. "What do I even say? I don't want you to leave? Yeah, that's a bust, he _has_ to leave. Take me with you? _Yeah okay_." She hadn't noticed she was thinking out loud. But her friends listened attentively, letting her blow off steam. "It's just… I'm fourteen! Blimey!" She sipped her hot chocolate and stayed quiet for a long moment.

"Are you done?" Reed asked and Sofie nodded. "She done!" He said to her roommates.

"You don't _have_ to be anything." Regine said, launching into the subject quickly. "You can be all casual and stay friends after this. And besides, it's not like any sort of… er… stimulation happened." Sofie laughed at that one.

"Reg is right." Alice nodded, wrapping an arm around Sofie's shoulders. "You don't have to be emotionally attached. You're young. You'll find people."

"But he's so _perfect_." Sofie declared with a groan. _So it's come to this._ She thought to herself as she twirled a sugar quill in her mouth. _Me going absolutely jelloid over a guy who is leaving for Beauxbatons in a week._

"Well… It's obvious, isn't it?" Alice added, scooting closer to Sofie. The two other friends looked at her, wondering what was so obvious. Sofie finally lifted her head to listen to what Alice had to say. "What do _you_ want for you and Elias?" She saw Reed's face crumbling into "that look". It was that look he got when he was confronted with the usual riddle to gain entrance to Ravenclaw house. He looked almost pouty, younger than he typically looked. There was a silly retort edging on the tip of her tongue but this was a legitimate Ravenclaw moment. She had to think. _Woe is me!_

"Well…" Sofie began. "I want us to be all…_us_. But then I don't, you know?" She threw the sweet down in frustration. "I don't know!"

Reed stood up and smiled at Sofie. "You need to sleep on it. The answer will come to you eventually."

"He's right." Alice agreed, standing up as well. "Finish your chocolate and we'll get ready for bed. Nothing organizes the brain better than a good night's rest." Sofie sighed with relief. For a Ravenclaw, she hated thinking, especially when the thinking was linked to emotional problems. _They're right_, she decided, taking her hot beverage into her mouth.

* * *

><p>The next day, they met each other at the foot of the stairs with their Beauxbatons friends. Elias grinned at Sofie and she just blushed, waving a hello. Reed was first to notice the absence. "Where's Derek?" The Hufflepuff was clearly absent and so was Hayden. Sophie shared a knowing look with Karina.<p>

"With Hayden, I imagine." Karina answered, beaming at their friends standing on the stairs. Before Sofie could make a snippy remark that would most likely have everyone laughing. Brittany looked up the stairs, waving excitedly. Everyone turned their attention to the two boys walking down the stairs, the taller one's arm was wrapped around the shorter and they looked especially ecstatic that morning. By Derek's standards, it's a surprise he was smiling so early before eating something.

"Soir-bien fait?" Sophie asked suggestively and the two boys flushed with red. It _was_ a nice night after all.

"Ooh la la." Sofie added afterwards, walking up to Derek and punching his arm. "Tu est vilain garcon." Derek scoffed and nearly pushed her down the stairs. She did _not_ just call him a dirty little boy in front of French people. Elias bit his lip, feeling warm in his clothes from what Sofie just uttered.

"Where were you? We _missed_ you at the coach." Karina smirked as they began to walk to their breakfast. Hayden and Derek looked anywhere but at their friends, their faces pink and Derek's gait not without a subtle limp. Of course, the conversations changed for the better, talking about the competition, talking about what food there would be for breakfast that day, and there was some little banter between the Nightingales and the Sirens. They saved the interrogations for later when Derek and Hayden were separated and as soon as they did, there was rapid fire questions that left them wanting to jump in a hole and die.

That's what you get when you have sex in the Room of Requirement.

* * *

><p>The air was buzzing with excitement and bubbling with mild competitive banter when they finally reached competition day. All day, the choirs were glaring at each other though most of them only did it for fun. They teased and taunted and so did some of the Hogwarts students. Nervousness was rampant as the hours passed. The newcomers of various schools had mini-breakdowns left and right. They suddenly felt the pressure of a performance <em>hours<em> before the actual performance that their older choirmates worried for safety. In some cases of competitiveness, a few had sing-offs in the corridor which weren't entirely banned but not exactly tolerated. Most of the songs were English since it was the universal language but sometimes there were French and Italian songs thrown in the mix. By the time the sun began to set, the choirs were taken to the rooms behind the Great Hall, which was turned into an auditorium for the event. The curtains were drawn as the students, teachers, parents, and some wizards and witches who appreciated competitions like these entered the Hall and filled the velvet seats before the stage.

"Welcome one and all to the Tenth Interwizarding Choir Competition!" Professor Weadell announced once everyone had settled down. She grinned against the lights, wearing a beautiful midnight blue dress accentuated with a little bit of bronze, paying homage to Ravenclaw house. "Let me introduce tonight's judges!" She said walking toward the end of the stage and the judges smiled up at her. "First, we have Nigel Moore, renowned music producer!" The crowd cheered as the middle-aged wizard stood up. "Then, we have Margaux Austen," the roar of the crowd grew before the History of Magic professor finished the statement, "music critic for the Daily Prophet." Finally, there was the last judge had even Professor Weadell, who was almost always composed, looking a little shaken. "Last but certainly not the least, famous singer, Stephanie Misch!" The audience was stunned to silence for a good second as the singer stood up. Then there was a standing ovation. The sound carried to the backstage where the choir members were putting the finish touches to the costumes and make-up.

Derek stared at himself in the mirror. He was all decked up with his hair spiked and styled. He buttoned the topmost button of his dark blue shirt for the nth time that night out of pure fidgeting habit. He then pushed the left sleeve up as it slowly drooped down his arm. Brittany appeared behind him, wearing a blue dress that matched his shirt. The dress faded to white on the edges. She reached down to pull up one leg of her tights so they wouldn't appear unless the girls did a turn. She smiled at Derek's reflection.

"Are you ready?" She asked and Derek nodded. Kurt and Rachel appeared as well with the same expressions as the blond. Rachel touched his shoulder.

"You're going to do great, Dere." Rachel vowed. Derek lifted his hand up to his shoulder so he could hold Rachel's hand. "Just don't drop me later." They laughed. But that wasn't what was really bothering him. He didn't voice his thoughts because he knew what his friends would say and he didn't want to hear it and he didn't want to know it. He was probably overanalysing.

A lot can happen in a week. Derek must've forgotten that.

They waited backstage since they were the second to the last to perform. They were situated in their rooms accordingly. There was one mirror that was enchanted so they could look at the performances of the other choirs. Some of the Nightingales watched, fretting over their own performance and comparing it to the group they were watching. Others tried not to watch and reviewed some steps and harmonized. Finally there were some that sat with their friends, just talking.

"Crescendo is doing pretty well." Kurt said as he came back to their circle. The Cross Institute's choir were a good mix of old and new. They were also the first to perform. Their sets usually constituted with contemporary and old songs from their country. Sometimes they would do mash-ups of slow opera-esque songs then suddenly bursting to a song and dance number by Hindley and the Hippogriffs.

Brittany whimpered. "What if –"

"This is no time for doubt, Brittany." Rachel debated, earning a quick nod from the blonde. "If we entertain any smidgen of doubt, we're bound to lose. I would know. I use that technique at every singing contest I've joined." Kurt gave her a strange look before dismissing it. They decided to move to the enchanted to mirror, to join the other Nightingales who were commenting and encouraging each other.

Soon enough, the Durmstrang Exodus finished their set, which meant the Sirens were up next, which _meant_ the Nightingales had to wait backstage _now_. The two choirs met in the corridor, exchanging good lucks and nice set and smiles. When they came into the backstage, they were met with lavish Victorian outfit wearing Sirens, who looked positively dapper and elegant in their costumes. How they planned to dance in those, the Nightingales were about to find out.

There was a brief bout of chaos as the Nightingales arrived. The Hogwarts choir looked for a place to situate themselves while the Beauxbatons choir prepared their entrance. Derek found Hayden amongst the crowd in the backstage and held his hand. The older boy took a moment before he squeezed back, smiling down at the other boy. "Prepare to lose." He chuckled.

"Why are you talking to yourself?" Derek retorted. Hayden leaned down to press a kiss on Derek's cheek, which was a little peculiar because the Beauxbatons boy usually went for the lips. But no matter, a kiss was a kiss from someone special. Derek was still getting a million butterflies.

"Okay, break it up, oiseau d'amour." Sophie said, separating the lovebirds' hands. Then she began pulling Hayden away. "No fraternizing with the enemy!"

"Isn't that a little too late, Soph?" Hayden chortled and winked at Derek. Sophie rolled her eyes and pulled her friend away. The Hufflepuff turned around to his friends and the girls squealed with happiness, making Derek want to do the same. Nothing could stomp his happiness at the moment. Any doubts evaporated and they joined in the stretching as he gushed about Hayden. They let him for now; he'd behaved and hadn't said a word about Hayden unless he was _asked_ to after the second week.

By the stage doors right across the Nightingales, a few Sirens stood, waiting for their cue. Sophie and Karina looked over their shoulders to their competitors before turning their attention to a tall brunet, their curled buns unmoving. They glared at Hayden, who was looking out to the audience distractedly. "What are you _doing_?" Karina demanded.

Hayden looked at her with a sad expression he'd been keeping for a while now. She didn't have to say what she was talking about. "…I don't know anymore. I didn't _mean_ for this to happen."

"What? Make him fall in love with you?" Sophie whispered harshly. Hayden winced and looked away to the audience again, hoping to stay focused on the performance. _One problem at a time._

"Hayden, I can't believe –" Karina began but she was interrupted by Professor Weadell up front.

"And from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, the Sirens!" She announced and after one glare, the girls moved forward, singing a harmony with the other girls. Two figures ran up front, one Elias, one Matilda, two of the five leads of the group number. The stage shimmered to take the form of an intricate ballroom, with a few chandeliers floating in mid-air. That was Beauxbatons's first setting. They had two. Hayden sighed as Elias took the first notes. He looked over to Derek, who waved at him while bent over. Though the sight stimulated him, there was that underlying feeling of "I'm going to be the bad guy" that ruined everything.

He waved back before he opened his mouth to sing a melody, backing up Matilda. He walked out.

* * *

><p>"Sofie, you're cutting off my circulation." Reed grunted as he pried Sofie's fingers away. But his words were unheeded as she suddenly smacked her friend on the arm. Hard. "Sofie… Calm…" Her head turned to face him slowly and he was a little mortified with the twitchy expression she had.<p>

"Elias. LeNendre. Is. _Singing_. In. _French_." While she said it, her eyes – Reed would _swear_ – looked crazier. "And you want me to be _calm_?" She snapped her head to face the stage once again and Reed just scooted a little farther. How could she be calm? She was on the other end of the spectrum. In fact, she had fallen of the spectrum and was tumbling to her hyperventilation-slash-heart palpation-slash-"Oh dear sweet Granger he's singing in French and he's looking over here he's singing in _French_!" induced doom. She could hardly put her camera near her face and take a decent shot. She was shaking too bad, so she handed her camera to Reed since she had an aisle seat, therefore cannot pass her camera to the ground. She was shaking everywhere. She didn't know _what_ to feel. So many emotions were going through her it was _amazing_ how she was still _breathing_. The song was flawless. His _voice_ was flawless. If she wasn't biased and took the side of her friends, she would be leading the crowd with the cheering for this _boy_. It was a slow French song that Sofie was slightly familiar with. She must've heard it during one of the family's excursion to the country. She watched as Elias moved across the stage, his Victorian costume fitting his body so perfectly that she wanted him to wear it forever and ever (until it stank). She would feel jealous whenever Elias danced with some other girl and she hardly knew why she was still feeling such because he was leaving the next day. But she was. And Reed was suffering.

Elias caught her gaze from the stage as they were finishing the first song. Sofie made an almost inaudible squeak and turned away, looking absolutely flustered. "Reed…" She whimpered to her friend and he smiled reassuringly, patting her shaking hands. She turned her head toward the stage once again as they finished the song and Elias was smiling _right at her_, making her spaz on the inside because she couldn't _possibly_ move a muscle! Not in front of Elias.

"I think she's broken." Regine commented beside Reed, Alice leaned over to look at their still friend. The choir had jumped into _Vogue _by Madonna, singing and moving in perfect unison. The stage rippled and slowly turned black which housed bright lights that shined when they reached the chorus, flickering with the music. Sofie was enthralled for all they knew but all she was doing was internally screaming.

"I can't feel my arm anymore." Reed noted, his face turned up in a slight grimace. "Here," he said, giving the camera to Regine, "take pictures, she'll be mad if there are no pictures."

"She'll calm down after Beauxbatons." Alice said, smiling apologetically at Reed. "Or at least when Elias stops smiling at her from time to time." Then she added, mostly to herself when she leaned back on her seat, "Not that he _would_ stop."

* * *

><p>Back in the backstage, the Nightingales watched the dazzling performance. When they arrived at the last song, their Victorian costumes were slowly ripped off to expose more skin and more fashion savvy outfits (most of which looked like Van Kamp designs). A catwalk appeared from the floor, making an extension of the stage. The last song they did was <em>Fashion<em>, another muggle song by a muggle artist named David Bowie. Which was strange since Beauxbatons usually went for the contemporary French wizarding songs, but they only did one French wizarding one tonight. And they were really good. The Nightingales were already in their places, ready for their first performance. Madam Cassandra was very proud with the choral arrangement on this one, which was very clear with the huge smile she had plastered on her face as she watched from the other side.

"Damn them and their beauty." Kurt muttered, clutching on to Rachel's hand like a lifeline. He needed her energy. She squeezed back.

"We're still going to bring the house down." She predicted with conviction. "They're relying on each other; all of them are group numbers. We have a spectacular duet and, yes I will admit, Thomas has a jaw-dropping solo. We're going to win this, yeah?" At the mention of his name, they turned to Thomas, who was standing near the front backstage door nearest to the edge of the stage.

"I still can't believe he's doing that solo." Kurt said to his friends. "I wouldn't have known he had such an _amazing_ voice. He's so quiet."

"That's only because you're not in Hufflepuff house." Derek answered and Brittany chuckled with him. "He's actually a hoot once you get to know him."

"Yeah, like he talks to anyone outside of Hufflepuff house." Rachel snorted, making the blonde laugh a little more.

"He's really nice." Brittany added while Derek nodded his assent. "I'm glad he got that solo right on his last year. I hope he brings the house down."

"The way he was going at it during rehearsals," Kurt chuckled, stretching his legs one last time, "I'll be surprised if he didn't." There was a blinding burst of light on the stage when the Sirens finished their song. The light shimmered forward for the full effect and the whole Hall was plunged into darkness except for a few wisps of light lingering in the air. The curtain fell and they were met with very loud applause. The Sirens whooped and cheered as they exited the stage. The Nightingales took their places for the first number while Professor Weadell made a few remarks before introducing them. The Sound Blast from Cavvan entered soon after the Sirens left. The friends separated, wishing each other luck. A few choir members' stomachs dropped and nervousness reached a critical level. This was it. They were there and they were to perform better than all of the other choirs. Two of the five leads, Tina and Mercedes, stood near the curtain, their breath tickling the curtains before they slowly raised as Professor Weadell announced the Nightingales.

The two girls started with rifts without music, sounding like the melody of the chorus. The Hogwarts students cheered happily. Lights began to appear, showing the choir in the back and two spotlights shone over the two girls as they held a short high note. Then they sang the first line which immediately started the music and the choir turned around to begin singing as well. They had captivated the judges' as well as the crowd's ears faster than a shooting star. The Cavvan Sound Wave's mouths dropped down before their captain snapped out of it and tried to keep their morale up. It was a truly auspicious start for the Nightingales.

* * *

><p>He couldn't believe he let himself watch this show choir shit. But McGongall got him into usher duty to keep the students from getting too rowdy. He sighed and mildly cursed his prefect status, though it got him pretty sweet bathroom privileges. At first he thought being prefect would be fun, getting to boss people around, the nightly "patrols" (and by patrols he meant a quick shag with an unsuspecting fourth, third, fifth, and sometimes a sixth year), and the pretty co-prefect Merril he got to spend time with (which kinda sucked after the first month since she was so <em>hopelessly<em> devoted to her already out of Hogwarts boyfriend, Spencer, that Puck gave up the effort). He didn't like the whole "responsibility" thing. The only real thing he felt responsible for was Rosie, his snowy owl.

The whole choir thing was just _so boring_, except for the girls dancing around and their boobs bouncing about. He enjoyed _that_. But all the other times, he just wanted to fall asleep where he stood. He couldn't care less of the songs they sang or the dances they danced or what the judges thought, he was supposed to meet up with some fifth year Slythe in one of the abandoned classrooms, but he couldn't because McGonagall was glaring at him somewhere…in cat form. Even when the Nightingales performed, he wanted to stun himself just to put himself out of his misery. He had to admit, though, Mercedes and Tina had some killer riffs. When the lights went out and the audience went to thunderous applause, Puck sincerely hoped that _that_ was the end of everything.

But, alas, he was sorely mistaken. Kurt walked into the spotlight with a huge grin on his face, followed by his tiny friend, Rachel. _Don't tell me she's going to sing._ He complained in his head, not wanting to hear anything come out of her huge pie-hole. "Vocal prowess" be damned. She wasn't even really worth looking at sometimes. Sure she's got a pretty little body on her. And, though he wouldn't say it out loud, he thought she was actually kind of pretty in some angles, he wasn't going to go for her. First of all, she was high maintenance, _everyone _knew that. Second of all, she had a below modest rack which Puck only _mildly _appreciated. Third of all, from the way she barely acknowledges him and the annoyed tone she had when they spoke to each other (usually with Kurt around) signified that he couldn't bed her until she was shitface drunk. His efforts would be futile, so why waste his time?

But then that's when he heard it. A pure, beautiful voice emanating from the stage that sent shivers down his spine down to his toes. He looked up and he couldn't believe that a voice like that came from someone as tiny as Rachel Berry. He couldn't believe his ears as Rachel sang a perfect high note before her duet partner sang his part of the song. She grinned at her friend, making Puck feel a little woozy in the head, which was a brand new sensation. She glowed in her spotlight. Suddenly, he forgot all about her flaws and he could only pick out the good things like how she looked so happy on stage. How her smile looked especially ecstatic. And how she held her body with perfect singing posture, making her look actually hot. She _had_ to be part-Siren. She just _had_ to be so Puck would have a viable reason to look at her legs like that. They looked really hot. Those legs were actually _unbelievably_ hot for someone so short. He couldn't believe his eyes. Then again, he didn't really pay much attention to her, and when he _did_ somehow check her out before, she would probably be wearing those knee-high socks this school was making the girls wear. She was so graceful when she moved on those tiny (but hot) legs of hers; Puck could barely keep his eyes off of her until the end of the song. He wanted her to sing more. He _wanted_ her.

Suddenly, getting Rachel Berry was worth the effort.

* * *

><p>Soon, the performances were over and the judges were deliberating somewhere private. The audience were placing bets on who would win. They sat at the end of their seats, unable to stay still after the energetic night that the choirs left them with. Behind the curtain, the choirs sat, paced, and talked nervously. There was still a light sheen of sweat on them, especially the Sound Waves because they were the last to perform. They stayed in their respective places, unable to really break from their choirs to mingle with the other choirs. But really, what do you say when you're about to hear the results of a contest and you're with a competitor? Exactly. Nothing at all. You could teeter awkwardly, talking about something else but it would always be there, hanging in the air.<p>

There was a roar of applause and they all sat up straight and the stage fell silent. Margaux Austen was onstage and she would be the one to break the news. They shuffled to a stand, fidgeting, holding hands, doing anything to calm them down. Thomas had it the worse. Even though he was met with a standing ovation at the end of the song, he immediately ran from the backstage to vomit in the lavatory. The Hufflepuffs rushed to his aid, reassuring him about everything. He was still a bit of a mess when the curtains went up to reveal the choirs and the famous singer talking to the audience. There was a hum of fervour once Margaux quieted the crowd. The choirs were shaking as she finished her closing remarks about how talented the choirs were and mentioning Cross's Crescendo for doing spectacular justice to one of her songs.

"And in fifth place… Cavvan Institute's Sound Wave!" She said, clapping. The audience gave them polite applause. The Sound Waves deflated upon hearing that they got the last place. Their captain put on a brave face and took the small trophy, expressing, in German, that they'll have to work harder for next year. They left the stage. "In fourth place… Durmstrang Institute's Exodus!" Again, they were met with polite applause. The three remaining choirs, Beauxbatons, Cross, and Hogwarts, grinned helplessly. They were getting closer and closer to the next winner of the Tenth Annual Interwizarding School Choir Competition. "Third place… Beauxbatons Academy's Sirens!" They were disappointed, greatly so. They wished they could claim the title after Hogwarts won last year's at _their_ school. At least they got third place. The Crescendoes and the Nightingales were buzzed with eagerness. Shivers ran up and down their spines as the judge took out the last envelope and pretended to hide from the choirs, making the audience laugh. They wanted to know _now_ but Margaux was building up the tension dutifully. The remaining choir members were sweating. They tried to remember everything they did, right or wrong. One of them might fret over a minute misstep. One of them might worry over a note they didn't quite catch. Captains would suddenly regret not using a particular song. "The winner…" Their hearts thumped and they clutched the hand of the person nearest to them. "…of the Tenth Annual Interwizarding School Choir Competition…" They were shivering. _Who was it going to be? If it's us I'm going to die. We're all going to die! If it's us I'm going to scream as loud as I can. If it's us, I'm going to dance on this stage, I don't care who sees. Who was it going to be? The Cross students were really bad ass with that mash-up. That last solo those Hogwarts persons did was meraviglioso!_ _They were really good._ "…is…" This was it. "Hogwarts School's Nightingales!"

The supporters of the Nightingales (which constituted the majority of the audience) surged off their seats at the exact same moment the Nightingales started cheering. A few fireworks appeared from a few wands. The confetti fell with the emblem of the winning school etched in their centres, charmed as such. Brittany ran to Margaux giving her a great big hug, thanking her vehemently. The singer just laughed and said, "You're very welcome." The Crescendoes moved to the backstage with their second place trophy, patting themselves on the back for at least getting to second place, deciding that the last Nightingale solo did it for the choir.

Friends and family surged up the stage, congratulating the Nightingales. But one was leading the charge, Jude Whittaker. His camera was bouncing on his chest as he ran to someone in the choir. Blaine broke away from the group, elation covering his features and they met each other halfway, throwing their arms around each other and their lips touching almost desperately. It was honestly the most shocking event that night. Little did they know that Blaine promised that if they won, they would out themselves. It took a great deal of bravery in the Puff and Claw's parts.

"Hey!" Sofie's voice pierced the air. "Stop looking at the snoggers and look into the camera!" A flash nearly blinded her friends before Rachel pulled them together and smiled winningly at the camera. "Another! Another!" The Claw shouted over the sound of the crowd and pushed some confetti out of her hair. Reed laughed as the Tweedles jumped into the shot, nearly pushing Kurt and Brittany down to the floor. Sofie began laughing as she was forced to move backwards to accommodate the Nightingales who were rushing in to join the picture. Before long someone fell over and the choir was left to their own devices, laughing their asses off. Soon they were lifting Thomas up in the air, cheering his name because they all knew (and Rachel reluctantly did too) that he won them the competition. The Hufflepuff looked embarrassed, happy, and uncomfortable at the same time.

Before long, everyone trickled out of the Hall, leaving a few people here and there. Plenty of pictures were taken and some members of the other choirs met to congratulate the Nightingale's win. There was always next year. Rachel walked back into the Hall, where her friends were waiting for her to finish talking with her fathers. The Hall looked quite littered now that the place was lit with bright fires. Sofie took her picture as she approached them. "I don't think I can fall asleep, I'm _way_ too happy."

"Me neither." Brittany giggled. "Tonight felt like a million times better than last year! I had so much fun this year." She sighed, thinking of all the dancing she had to do during their performances tonight.

"Hello." The six looked up at the stage, their Beauxbatons friends were smiling down on them, still wearing their costumes. Karina leaned down to give the Nightingales a flower each. "Congratulations." She said. "You were amazing tonight."

"Thank you." Kurt and Rachel uttered in unison, causing the others to laugh.

Hayden knelt down to smile a small smile at Derek, who lit up dangerously when he saw the smile. The older boy sighed; it was going to be harder than he thought. "Derek, I need to talk to you." The tone caught the Puff unawares. It was strange. He denied himself thinking the tone was sad, which it was. He nodded and said goodbye to his friends, following Hayden to the backstage. His friends watched warily as he disappeared, wondering what would happen that night. A second later, Elias caught Sofie's eye and she gave him a stiff nod. She had nearly forgotten about their agreement and now she had to succumb to a heart-to-heart with Elias LeNendre. Their friends, noticing the shift in the air, went away with some half-arsed excuse. They climbed up the stage and went away to the backstage (though they found no sign of Hayden and Derek there). They talked excitedly about the two pairs, drawing out small speculations though Sophie and Karina knew what was going to happen to one of the pairs… And it wasn't going to be pretty.

* * *

><p>Outside, Sofie and Elias fell into a small silence, trying to pick the right words to say. Sofie was internally freaking out. She <em>couldn't<em> think of anything to say because she simply wasn't _cut out_ for situations like _this_. It wasn't in her genetic structure. Sofia Salvadair wasn't the one to be intimate _like this_. Sure she had thought about it. Sure she enjoyed spending time with Elias. But confronted with the real thing had her mouth dry and her palms sweaty. This wasn't okay. "Let's get this over with." She said quickly, making Elias look at her. _Why must he look at me like that?_

"Sofie…" He started, just as nervous as she was. "You know 'ow much I – 'ow you say – fancy you…" Upon hearing it again, Sofie nearly fell over.

Hayden looked down at Derek with green eyes that never looked so sad before. It called for distress. Derek thought they would be here in the deserted Beauxbatons dressing room for something a little happier but then he remembered that tomorrow the choirs would leave Hogwarts and wouldn't meet until the next year. "We need to talk." There was that word again: talk. The way it sounded now didn't sound like the kissing kind of talk or the silly kind of talk. It was the serious kind. It wasn't a talk; it was a "discussion". And Derek didn't like the sound of it. "About me leaving and you staying here."

"…Okay." He tried to cling on to anything positive. He was overreacting. That was it.

Sofie and Elias were sitting in the front row. Elias was still looking at her and Sofie was looking at the stage, unable to look into the brown eyes of the beautiful boy beside her. She had interrupted his earlier statement so they could sit down, so there wouldn't be _any_ chance of her falling over and harming herself with anything Elias was about to say. "Continue," she said.

"I will be frank." Elias nodded, finding it easier to say what he needed to say and not skirt around it. He had put a lot of thought about it and asked _all_ of his friends in the choir. He was scared of what she was going to say or do once he said it. But he had to because that's what he wanted. "I want you to be my girlfriend." Sofie nearly crushed the camera in her hands. She made a sound he couldn't quite place but at least she didn't run away.

* * *

><p>Derek was overreacting, he knew it. He was overreacting when Hayden sighed and sat down on a chair, gesturing for him to sit down on another. He was overreacting when Hayden massaged the bridge of his nose. "I'm leaving tomorrow…" Hayden began and Derek was sure he was overreacting when he thought it sounded like Hayden was breaking up with him. This wasn't it. This wasn't the ending he was hoping for. This wasn't the ending he wanted. He clung to the happily ever after he had in his head. He was overreacting.<p>

"Yeah…" Derek chuckled nervously. "I-I could write to you. Every day." He smiled and leaned his arm on a table, willing it to stop shaking. "I can write a lot."

Hayden shook his head. "I don't…"

* * *

><p>"No." Sofie said, finally. But it crushed Elias' hopeful expression. She turned to him when she didn't get a reply. "No." She said, very sad that she had to do so but it was necessary.<p>

"…No?" It was like he wasn't sure he heard it right. It was like he was run over by a mountain troll. It was like his breath was sucked out of him. She looked sad. He could _tell_ she was sad. Then why was she saying no? Didn't she want this too? "I…I do not understand."

"Elias…" Sofie sighed, defeated. "I don't like being intimate. And it's not that I don't fancy you, I fancy you a lot." She couldn't stop now. She didn't originally want to admit it but if she stopped talking, she would clamp down and she wouldn't be able to talk anymore. "I don't want commitment, yeah?" She wasn't saying it right. His expression showed confusion, that's how she knew. She figured she got why he was confused – the spending time with each other, the sharing similar music tastes, the _bloody_ talking. Elias stared at her, trying to comprehend what she was saying. He _knew_ what she was saying but it didn't seem to connect to what he _expected_ her to say. He almost asked to repeat in French.

* * *

><p>"I don't think we should drag this out longer, Dere." Hayden said, looking Derek directly in the eyes. Derek was silent, expectations thrashed. There was a twinge of regret on the French boy's side and there was a sudden drop of heart on the Puff's side. But this had to happen, he knew it and <em>surely<em> Derek had considered it. The conversation was running south and so was the temperature in the room. Hayden didn't know if it was just feeling or if Derek's magic was unleashing itself due to the boiling feelings inside.

"So…This meant nothing…?" Derek's voice caught and he tried very hard for his words not to shake. But they were shaking like he was. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair _at all_. What happened to the everlasting love? What happened to the love he thought would transcend the ocean and endure the long months? What happened to the love he so often read about in stories? What happened to all those letters they were going to write to each other?

Hayden moved forward, holding Derek's hands but the other boy retracted. The older boy's touch seemed too painful. All those memories of being touched by those hands – once happy memories suddenly tainted by this very happening. It was like the perfect image that Derek built in his mind was shattering into a million pieces. And it wasn't shattering in front of him, it was shattering _right at him_. The shards piercing his skin with every memory relieved, every move Hayden did, and every moment Derek continued to spend with him. "It meant _something_ but we're leaving…And… I don't think I can handle it." Hayden spoke truly, hoping the boy would understand where he was getting at, which was: "we had fun, it was good while it lasted but it's time to move on with someone else, someone who isn't leaving school after next year and someone who lives nearby". But of course, Derek thought otherwise, causing the reaction.

"But I thought if you love someone –" Derek said, desperately beginning to pace, unconsciously uttering words that aren't meant to be uttered.

"Love?" Hayden was aghast. That word, that small word with a big meaning. Did Derek really think that they were in _love_? If it weren't for the distressed look on Derek's face and the palpable dropping of the temperature, he would've laughed. Only because he thought a month wouldn't have sufficed for a decent timeline for love. But there it was. The shards were digging deeper into Derek's skin.

"Shit." Derek said when the realization hit him. Not only had he admitted that he loved Hayden, Hayden obviously didn't feel the same way.

* * *

><p>"Please say something?" Sofie asked when the silence drew too long for her liking. She didn't like being, what she believed to be, the bad guy. She was only doing the natural thing to her. She was fourteen, he was sixteen. He was going back to Beauxbatons and she was staying here. Her friends would meet him once next year and she'll still be staying in Hogwarts. How was that relationship going to last? A bigger question: How was that relationship going to last when one end of the equation didn't even <em>want<em> to be in a committed relationship?

"So…You… Fancy me…" Elias began, sounding lost and confused. Like the first time he heard English being spoken during his first year at Beauxbatons. "But you do not want to be my girlfriend." He didn't understand because yes, Sofie liked him very much, yes, he liked _her_ very much and _yet_ she didn't want to be his girlfriend. Though he thought he was going to be a little frustrated, he found himself fascinated, wondering how her brain worked under all that beautiful, beautiful raven-black hair.

"I just don't feel like commitment." She shrugged, unable to think of any other explanation. It was as simple as that.

"But what we _had_…" Elias said with frustration beginning to spill over his metaphoric cauldron. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned on the seat. He stared at the empty stage, trying to gather his thoughts. "Make me understand because I am unable to."

"What we had, Elias, was something special, I can't deny that." Sofie sighed, refusing to even be _near_ the verge of tears. She didn't want to show how this was affecting her because she wasn't _supposed_ to be affected by all of this! She didn't like these emotions she was feeling. She didn't like the look Elias had. She hated it. She resented it. But she had to keep herself together; she can unravel when she's in the safety of her own house. "But we can't have a relationship overseas, yeah? I don't want to tie you down; you've got a whole life ahead of you. And I'm not ready for anything really serious, yeah?" Sofie looked at him. "Do you understand now?"

Elias was quiet for a short while before nodding sadly. As much as he didn't want to understand, he did. And as much as it pained him to even think it, she was right. And as much as he didn't want to, he just fell a little deeper for the girl beside him.

* * *

><p>"Derek, you don't mean that…" Hayden said, trying to comfort the boy who was shaking. He reached over to wipe a tear but Derek turned away and walked backwards. It's what he always feared. The Hufflepuff truly believed that they were in love (or at the very least, getting to it). Frankly, he was hurt how the other boy backed away like that but he reasoned out that it was his fault. He had, for the lack of a better term, strung Derek along and all he could do was take the consequence of having done so.<p>

"Don't I?" He asked bitterly, suddenly mad. He paced the room and the room's temperature dropped. Hayden was sure Derek was doing that now and not just because someone left the windows open or some inane reason like that. He couldn't do anything but stand there and regret ever thinking Derek was going to take this lightly. "Three weeks is a long time. The things you say, the things we do – did, the kisses, the books… the _sex_?" Derek was so livid that the temperature change was barely registering to him. All that time and it was all a _lie_. "Tell me, how I'm supposed to _not_ fall in love with you when you gave me all the reason to?" He turned around and rubbed his forehead, a headache was brewing alongside his tears.

"Surely… Surely you thought about when I would leave." Hayden replied, tone straight and unwavering. It just hurt Derek more to think that Hayden though that. "This was just supposed to be a fling."

Derek turned to Hayden, mouth agape. "A _fling_?" There was a surge of power coming towards the older boy, making him stumble backwards. Derek felt betrayed that Hayden thought that. He felt betrayed that Hayden didn't feel the same. He felt horrible to have even considered being in love with someone who didn't feel the same. He felt so bloody _stupid_ for admitting his feelings. He began crying.

* * *

><p>"Where does zis leave us?" Elias asked, leaning on his knees, deep in thought.<p>

Sofie looked at him briefly before resting her back on the chair and sighed. "Friends?" She said hopefully, it was the most they could be considering her answers and explanations. She didn't like seeing him like this but it was necessary. She couldn't possibly promise him something she couldn't give at the moment. Of course if her mentality was ever-so slightly different, she would've said yes in a hot second but it wasn't different and the moment had already passed.

He sighed, rising from his position to rest his back on the chairs velvety front as he contemplated the next words he was about to say. "…Promise me something?"

Sofie nodded. "Alright."

"If we meet…" Elias began in a soft tone. "Someday in the future when we are both out of school… And we don't have anyone." Both of their hearts were beating fast as the words gained understanding. _What the bloody hell is he saying?_ Sofie thought as she subtly clutched the hem of her shirt in a poor attempt to calm herself down. "And we still have feelings for each other. Will you give me a chance?"

Sofie paused for a while to think about it. Elias' gaze was still upon her and it did _not_ help speed things along. She figured that maybe one day she _could_ manage to grasp the idea of having a relationship and it would be nice to have Elias as a _maybe_ – something to fall back on. "Sure." As soon as it rolled out of her mouth, Elias' face broke into a grin and before either of them knew it, he hugged her. It was a short hug, barely lasted more than a second because Elias knew how Sofie wasn't the touchy kind of girl. It was enough for Sofie's brain to fry and for her to internally scream though. Any indication that she was still breathing was a little whimper.

Elias stood up, smiling now. "Come, I shall walk you to your house."

* * *

><p>Hayden panicked a little bit as he saw the younger boy's face crumple down and he began sobbing. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to handle this kind of situation. He's broken up with people before but no one's reacted this violently. And why shouldn't he? Derek felt betrayed. He felt absolutely crushed at the revelation. He was a fling. He really didn't <em>mean<em> anything to Hayden. His brain was swimming with doubt and all of a sudden he second guessed all the things they've ever done. He thought of the things he could've done to annoy Hayden. He began analysing times he could've noticed Hayden's detachment. He reconsidered every definition of love he could think of. All of this, happening in a short period of time, was all too much for the young Hufflepuff that he found himself moving shakily towards the door. At first it was slow, like he didn't know where he was going or even _why_ he was moving. Then Hayden said his name, worried and confused. Bitterness set in and Derek wiped a few tears of the way. Hayden had no right to be worried _or_ confused since _he _did this to him. He moved faster.

"Derek!" Hayden moved forward to at least get them to talk this over, end up as friends at least. Hey come –"

"No! Don't! Just –!" Derek made a frustrated sound and began running away with Hayden calling his name. But he didn't look back nor did he slow down. He needed to be away from him. He needed to be somewhere else, a place where he could cry in peace. A place where there was someone who'd tell him it'd be alright and none of it was because he did something wrong or because he was fat. A place that didn't include going down, just up and on the east wing. He left the Beauxbatons boy, unable to even look into those green eyes ever again, never again. Hayden just watched and leaned his head on the stone wall. It was for the best.

* * *

><p>"That was some competition." Josh commented to his roommates, Todd and Reed as he put his things in order back in his trunk after his nightly visit to the bathroom. "It makes me want to audition." Reed nodded and made a noncommittal sound, as he put his Transfiguration book down to pay attention to what Josh was saying. The performances <em>were<em> enticing, Reed though. They called to him fiercely that he regretted not joining Derek when he auditioned. His friends looked like they truly enjoyed themselves on stage, especially Kurt. He noticed how the Gryffindor swelled with pride at getting a really coveted spot in the light. Rachel didn't even overpower him, which made Reed happy. They didn't need another fight.

"I'm planning on auditioning next year." Reed mused, thumping the feathers of his owl, Erik, when he decided to flutter beside him.

"Yeah?" Todd looked up from some parchment he was writing on. They were probably the quietest room in the whole Hogwarts most of the time. Before going to bed, Josh would read some Potions in advance while Reed would read some other subject or some book Derek asked him to read or draw whatever it is he needed to draw (most of the time for his mum) and Todd would write whatever he was writing on parchment. They had done this every night for four years now and they've been comfortable with each other's silence. But they do have nights such as this where they would discuss a day's events or discuss homework.

"Actually," Reed chuckled lightly, "Derek made me promise. But I was a little hesitant for this year's audition and I didn't want to come off fidgety." Just then, there was an urgent knock on the door, making the three boys in the room stop moving. Erik made a hooting sound in the short silence.

"Come in." Todd announced and the door swung open. Reed immediately sat up in his bed. Framed by the open door was the broken Derek Breaker, his shirt rumbled, his shoes scuffed, and his pants dirtied by a few stumbles on the marble staircase. His hair was swept away in dishevelled bunches and his eyes were wet and red. His breath was coming in hurried bursts.

"Derek? Wha –" Reed was interrupted by his friend crossing the room, jumping on his bed, and wrapping his arms around a pillow before screaming. It didn't take a Ravenclaw to figure out that the Hufflepuff was _very_ upset. There were already a few boys waiting outside the open door, curious to the outsider. It wasn't a particularly hard riddle when he came. "Derek…" Reed touched his best friend's hair in a comforting manner. "Tell me what's wrong." Derek just sobbed in his pillow, incoherent. _Everything was wrong. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. I was stupid. _He wanted to say that but all he could do was sob and feel horrible about himself.

_Hayden_, Reed immediately thought as he continued to stroke Derek's hair. It was the only explanation. "Oh, Dere… He's… He's just a boy." Just then, Josh stood up from beside his trunk and nodded Todd to follow him outside. The other boy followed, scrambling from his bed, taking his parchment and quill with him. Reed shot them a grateful smile as they shooed the eavesdroppers away and closing the door behind him. "They're gone now."

Derek looked up from the pillow, eyes glassy with fresh tears. "I told him I love him." Then he cried anew, laughing bitterly as he did. "How stupid was that, Reed? I told him I love him and found out he didn't feel the same way and now I'm _crying_ over him! How _bloody stupid_ is that? It's like I should've seen it coming. I should've seen it! I was just too blinded by his bloody eyes and his bloody smile and his bloody _fucking_ everything to even notice if he was detaching himself from me. And you know what's funny? The funny thing is he didn't even go after me when I ran off – but wait, wait, wait – here's the punch line, I _wanted_ him to. Can you believe that? I wanted him to run after me, to hold me and reassure me of _something_. Like... I don't know, like it wasn't because I'm horribly dull or because I'm fat or because I'm just some immature forth year that's easy to cast aside. But he didn't and the least – I wish – that he would feel bad about this. Which is, again, stupid because apparently we had nothing special and I shouldn't be feeling _this bad_."

More tears followed the old ones; dried trails were given life again making Derek bury his head into the pillow again. Reed was left completely speechless. He didn't know what to say that would make Derek feel better. He just continued stroking Derek's hair trying to come up with anything to say. Just then there was a shout of surprise followed by protest from outside the door. But as soon as the sounds started, they were ended by an exasperated voice, the prefect's, more specifically, Logan's. There was a soft knock on the door. "Reed, Sofie's here." It was the other prefect's voice, Quinn's.

"Come in." Reed felt like some of the weight was pulled off when Sofie's presence was acknowledged. The door swung open, two blonds standing behind a petite girl whose big blue eyes went to Derek's shaking form beside Reed right away. She briskly walked in and the prefects closed the door after announcing the time limit – twenty minutes.

"Boys," she scoffed, attempting to crack a smile on Derek's face, "it's like they haven't seen a girl before." The Hufflepuff managed to chuckle at that one, making his two friends smile softly. She sat on his other side, putting an arm on Derek's shoulder. "What happened?" She looked at Reed, who went into a quick run through of their friend's earlier story. She scrunched her face with mild disgust, like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew how sensitive Derek could be and Hayden _must've_ as well. In the inner recesses of her mind, she thought about how stupid the whole thing is, which strengthened her belief of "no commitment" since they all just led to…_that_ at some point. She sighed and rubbed Derek's shoulder. "I'll hex him if you want."

Derek shook his head. "Don't… Just… Don't make things worse than they already are." He smiled weakly. "Thanks for the sentiment though." For the next twenty minutes, they just talked about other things after a few minutes ragging on Hayden and how stupid he was and how they should just throw him into the black lake for the giant squid to feast on – they had Derek laughing a few times. Once the twenty minutes were up, Logan came back in, asking Sofie and Derek to go back to their respective places. After a hug from Reed and then later a hug from Sofie, Derek left Ravenclaw tower. He sighed and all the happy came along with the breath. He was alone again. No one was there to distract him from his thoughts. Food. He needed food.

* * *

><p>Class was cancelled that day in favour of Hogwarts winning first place a second time in a row. And the same morning after breakfast, a few dozen students gathered in the courtyard. The courtyard was filled the brim with students, all saying farewells, exchanging addresses and giving away hugs from the friendships they procured during the month-long stay at Hogwarts. Derek opted out of joining the other five friends out in the courtyard. He said his goodbyes to his acquaintances before he left breakfast and walked out before anyone else could do anything. With a quick glance to Hayden, Brittany noticed him staring intently at his food.<p>

Derek stayed in Hufflepuff, eating some pastries he stole from the kitchens. Derek lay in his room, unable to do anything but lie there. He didn't play any music. He didn't read any books – in fact the book he was supposed to be reading was just lying beside his head, his finger on the page he stopped. He didn't want to be there. He didn't want to see Hayden go in to that bloody carriage and go back to bloody France. _Let him look for me… If he does._ He thought, rolling deeper into his bed. Hayden _did_ manage to show that he cared less about Derek.

There weren't enough books to tell him what heartbreak really felt like. He never thought that it would hurt this bad.

_Damn him. _Derek thought. _No,_ _fuck him for doing this to me._ _Fuck him for making me feel these emotions. Fuck him for making me so happy and then making me so sad. _Derek screamed into a pillow in his empty dorm room.

The others said their goodbyes outside and they didn't mention anything about Hayden or Derek, though the five did shoot glares at Hayden when they had the chance, making the older boy leave with an awkward goodbye. He walked away to the coach with only one last look at the castle and with a hint of regret he sighed. The others watched him go for a moment before going back to their conversations, Elias stayed behind his Sophie and Karina as they hugged their Hogwarts friends. Soon, they left, grinning wildly at Elias, he said goodbye to Reed, Rachel, Brittany, Kurt, and Mercedes, then he stopped at Sofie, who took his picture quickly before she could lose her nerve. Elias smiled. The others immediately walked away, not even bothering giving a half-arsed excuse to leave.

"Hi." Sofie said, letting go of her camera.

"Hi." Elias smiled slightly. They both looked down at their shoes, teetering awkwardly, last night's discussion hanging between them. They shared a look, adorable brown and brilliant blue meeting each other for the nth time. Sofie bit her lip nervously, unsure of how to go about this whole goodbye process. Elias waited for Sofie to make a move.

"So, I guess this is –" Unfortunately, he couldn't wait for _his_ move to happen – something he'd wanted to do since their first alone date. It was a kiss, only just a kiss for him. A special one for a special girl. He put a hand on Sofie's face, feeling the heat from under her skin. He smiled and continued what he was doing.

What was a kiss for Elias; it was a first kiss for Sofie. Her brain was fried and her legs felt like jelly. She wanted to faint. There weren't fireworks like in every cheesy book she'd read or in movies she'd seen. It was so much more than that. It was something that couldn't be put in words. And for a moment, she chastised herself for saying "no" last night. It was better than anything she'd ever put on her mouth. She almost didn't want to stop.

But it had to, for reasons pertaining to people-who-watch-people-kiss.

Elias pulled away with a huge grin on his face. Sofie felt a gust of cold wind biting at her very warm skin. She opened her eyes to Elias, wide with shock. "I'll write to you soon, Sofie." He said, pulling her into a hug. She couldn't form any coherent thought, let alone words. She was kissed and she enjoyed it. She was kissed by a _boy_ whom she _liked profusely_. She kissed a boy who was extremely _fit_. And he was leaving. He was untangling himself from the hug and was walking away. It hardly _ever_ seemed fair.

Something flared inside of her. Something starting from the pit of her stomach and went up to burn in her heart. As her pulse throbbed against her skin, she found enough brain cells to come together for her to form new words. "SOMEONE HOLD ME!" She shouted, feeling hysterical, stumbling to her friends. Rachel and Kurt rushed to her, holding her up. Her other friends were staring in shock and concern. She started hyperventilating and started making strange noises that didn't sound human. Rachel and Kurt were swaying with her as she continued to make the sounds and flailing her hands. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT HAPPENED!"

"Rachel… should we bring her in?" Kurt whispered as their friend became less and less coherent.

"I-I think we should." Rachel nodded, dragging their friend slowly through the crowd.

"…Should I call Madam Pomfrey?" Brittany suggested and Reed shook his head, Sofie'd come down from her cloud sooner or later.

Sofie looked at the crowd again. She spotted Elias near the Beauxbatons carriage, grinning at her. _Damn him and that bloody gorgeous smile_. The thought flitted by before she was consumed by the sounds she was making. But they continued staring at each other, unable to look away from the one they were separating for a while, a long while. They sat her down on one of the corridor benches. Before long, Sofie's high, elated, what-the-bloody-hell-happened feeling pattered up to livid, what-the-_fuck_-happened. She stood up, red in the face and pacing in front of her friends.

"Why did he do that?" She shouted, causing Reed to flinch and fall over the bench. "Why did he kiss me? Without my _permission_! What a fucking prick! That's, like, some violation of my personal space!" She turned to them. "It's lip rape. That's what it's called. Lip rape! He lip raped me! Who does he think he is? Stealing kisses like that?"

"Well, you looked like you enjoyed it…" Brittany commented. Sofie turned to her, heart beating fast and mad. She was right after all.

"Whose side are you on, Brittany?" Sofie honestly didn't know what to feel anymore and seeing her friend flinch a little bit, she drew in a deep breath. "I – I need to lie down." A quick lie down with no human interaction would do her well, so she could think things over. Maybe she could ask Derek to come up to Ravenclaw, knowing very well that their friend was currently eating his face off. Then again she decided against it, it was hard enough for him to get up to Ravenclaw tower without a strict time limit, imagine if Quinn found him in the girls' dormitory. With her emotions going haywire and her mind going to place she didn't want it to go, she considered creating a sleeping draught in her room. _Bed. That's what I need. A nice bed and a quiet room, so I won't go completely mad._

* * *

><p>A week after the win, everyone assembled in the choir room. Lorien stood in front of the room with a sad smile on his face. This was his last year at Hogwarts and it was time to pass the torch to the new captain – or, rather, <em>captains<em>. He did a ceremonial goodbye song that made everyone feel down when they realized that this was it; their leader of two years was leaving. After the song, he was greeted with applause and a group hug perpetrated by the twins.

"Alright, alright, sit down." Lorien said, laughing amidst tear wiping from his end. Santana punched his arm, being the last one to take a seat. "As we all know, this is the time the captain gives his position to whomever they chose." He said, still smiling, scanning the room, trying not to linger on the people he chose so the surprise won't be spoiled. Rachel grinned on her seat. She felt like she was the one chosen but she tried to humble herself down just a tad. "And I've thought this through long and hard this week and whatever decision I make, you'll be stuck with them until their last term." The word "them" sent the room into a quick chatter, tossing around theories of who it was going to be. Professor Schue shushed them and the conversations died down immediately. Lorien grinned at the response. "Kurt Hummel." The Gryffindor was met with polite applause and he smiled triumphantly as he blushed. He couldn't believe it himself. He looked at his friends who were looking at him like he won a sack of galleons. Rachel, in particular, was rocking in her seat. If Kurt was chosen, _surely_ she would be the other captain.

Kurt stood beside Lorien and beamed. "Thank you, Lorien. I won't disappoint."

"You go, Alice!" The Tweedles cheered and in the moment, Kurt was too elated to send them a glare.

"And your second captain…" Lorien flicked his wand and there was a drum roll. No one knew who it was, though they were betting on Berry. They'd have to be a fourth year, clearly. If there were co-captains, it would be prudent to have them the same year. Everyone was at the edge of their seats. It was silent once the drum roll ended until Lorien spoke up. "Derek Breaker." The Hufflepuff nearly fell off his chair. From the tough week he had last week, this was certainly some _great_ news.

It was great news but it was confusing news as well. "What?" He and Rachel asked quite audibly as the polite applause began. The two friends looked at each other and Derek was suddenly brought back to third year's row between Kurt and Rachel. Rachel couldn't believe it, she was chosen in favour of someone who didn't get a solo after his audition. He was picked over her, who had more experience. She couldn't help but feel a little resentment. Just before her features hardened into a glare, she caught herself._ Do you really want a replay of you and Kurt?_ She stared into Derek's brown eyes and she _knew_ immediately that if she said the word, Derek would step down and let her take his place. But she didn't want that. She didn't want to be that person. Rachel smiled.

"Congratulations, Dere." She said. "I'm going to hug you now." Derek blew out a breath and accepted the hug before walking up to the centre. He hugged Kurt and then Lorien, who was taken aback by the sudden show of affection.

"Thank you!" He said. "And I'll do my best to carry on the Hufflepuff name!" He laughed but someone by the name of Thomas Hart cheered loudly, getting a few surprised looks from the other Nightingales. There were would be protests that bubbled in the throats of certain Nightingales who would argue that it'd be a friend show, that Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel would procure all the solos. However, after seeing the blatant badger against a yellow background on Derek's chest and the fact that Lorien _thought_ _this through_, the protesters silenced their words and trusted Derek to keep his friends in check.

"And as per tradition," Lorien grinned as he and Professor Schuester charmed the instruments, "the new captains shall regale us with an impromptu performance." Derek and Kurt looked at the now ex-captain with expression of betrayed surprise. A few of their choirmates hooted and whistled as Derek turned to his friend with a desperate face. Both of their brains scrambled for a song and Kurt fired songs at the other with rapid fire succession. It took them about a minute to find a song since most of the songs Kurt's practiced with was with Rachel and Derek couldn't even _begin_ to amount to that much talent. Rachel felt a pang of jealousy again, wanting to be in Derek's place but she tried to push the feeling away. It was a messy, but fun, performance. By the middle of it, Derek began playing with Kurt, blocking him from everyone's view whenever he stepped in and Kurt didn't like being outshined by the other. At the end, everyone joined in the performance, the Tweedles and Brittany were the first to jump in.

After the last session of the year, Lorien and Professor Schue took the new choir captains out for a walk to discuss the future of the Nightingales and to give some advice. The Gryffindor and the Hufflepuff greeted Sofie and Reed outside, telling them about their new status before being whisked away to the beautiful grounds of Hogwarts. Rachel and Brittany walked with the Ravenclaws.

"I honestly expected to be co-captain with Kurt." Rachel lamented. She wanted to talk about it, of course. It wouldn't be healthy if she just kept it to herself. It'll just bubble and boil and just screw them over. "But I guess I'm not captain material."

"Aww, Rach." Sofie wrapped her arm around Rachel's shoulders. "It's okay. You're still a star even if you're not captain. And besides, think of it this way, you wouldn't have to work extra hard just to coordinate your choirmates, you can focus on your performance." She put her head on the Slytherin's shoulder and she laughed lightly.

"True, true."

"And you wouldn't have to scream at us to keep going." Brittany added. "You can save your voice for singing only."

Rachel giggled but then it turned into a groan when she saw the person walking around the corridor. "Ugh, it's that sorry excuse for a Gryffindor prefect again." It never ceased to amaze her how annoying Puck was and whenever they cross paths, she found herself shivering with disgust (and some mild attraction that she pushes away immediately because – just – no). The girls, and Reed, turned their attention to the fifth year walking towards them, talking to a classmate about the latest on their Potions.

"I don't understand why you don't like him." Sofie whispered to Rachel as they drew nearer to meeting in the corridor. "He's _very_ fit. I mean have you _seen_ his arms?" Brittany giggled in assent, high fiving Sofie in the process. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Well he's an annoying, arrogant prick who sleeps around as much as Brittany – no offense."

"None taken." The blond chirped.

Rachel turned to Sofie again. "I just can't stand him."

"I'd stand for him." The Ravenclaw wiggled her eyebrows and Reed laughed behind her then smacked her with his bag very lightly.

Just then, Puck turned his eyes to their direction and smirked. "Hey ladies," he said, "and dude." Then he winked at Rachel, making her almost fall over. "Rachel." He nodded and he was off with his friend like it was the most natural thing in the world. The four of them stopped as the voices of the two Gryffindors disappeared in a massive amount of wall. Sofie floundered wordlessly, trying to make heads and tails of what just happened.

"Noah Puckerman just _winked_ at you. And gave you a _special mention_." Sofie finally gasped out. "How are you still _alive_?" Yes, how was she? Even if she won't admit it verbally, Rachel liked the annoying, arrogant prick of a prefect – however minute that liking she might later consider may be. It was very ironic if she went for him, the stunning star of a choir and a bad boy in Hogwarts. How very cliché. She stared at Sofie for a moment before just rolling her eyes.

"I have no reason to go after him nor do I fancy him at all. He just wants to have _sex_, Sofie." She started to walk and her friends followed. Sofie and Brittany were flanking Rachel, listening keenly at her explanation while Reed tried not to trip on his robes for the whole day (a new personal record, considering). "I don't want to fall for his so-called 'charms' because I'm not self-sabotaging. And who _knows_ what kind of things he caught sleeping around with that much girls – though I hope Brittany will be fine."

"Wait, when did you sleep with Puck?" Reed chimed at the back.

"Like a week after I broke up with the Tweedles." She answered, smiling over her shoulder. Reed nodded.

"Back to the main point." Sofie waved off the previous question and answer portion. "But don't you want that? He's insanely hot; I'd give my left arm for him to flirt with me."

"You wouldn't." Rachel laughed, shaking her head.

"Oh I would." Sofie then looked up thoughtfully. "…Actually I'd back to you for that."

"Besides, I've got a career to look forward to; I don't need that kind of distraction." Rachel flipped her hair over her shoulder. What she didn't say was she was also afraid of becoming like Derek. She was afraid that she would develop feelings for a boy who could easily throw her out like trash, like she was nothing of importance. She didn't want that to happen to her. It'd be humiliating enough with someone else, but with Puck she'll be just another trophy for him to check off his book and she did _not_ want to see that.

"Whatever tickles your fancy, mate." Sofie shrugged. "But if you could just imagine those arms around you and…" She smacked her lips together and hugged herself. "Bloody _hell_."

* * *

><p>Time seemed to move fast after the competition. Before any of them knew it, it was Christmastime and they were given the choice to stay or to leave Hogwarts. The six friends were all leaving that year again, their families already making plans that included them. They stayed together until they were back on the platform where their families were waiting excitedly. It was certainly a combination of exciting happenings and boring family gatherings for all of them. The others mused that Derek and Reed had it easy because they practically grew up with each other and they couldn't deny that at all. As per usual, they sent each other letters whenever they could and the owls would allow such.<p>

_Dear Kurt,_

_I know this is such short notice but could you probably mail me a coat? I forgot mine. Please and thank you!_

_XOXO,_

_Sofie_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Reed,<em>

_I simply ADORE that drawing you sent me for next year's possible costume idea! These will DEFINITELY be a suggestion next year! Hopefully you'll audition? Remember, you promised! I would love to sing with you like we do! _

_Love,_

_Derek_

_P.S. Can't wait to see you tomorrow! _

* * *

><p><em>Dear Brittany,<em>

_Here are the pictures you wanted! Don't bring those around Derek though (or me). I'm glad you wanted these. They're just far too sad to keep here, just lying around like that. But I couldn't bring myself to burn them or not have them developed (film is EXPENSIVE). I hope you have fun with them! And keep them far, far, FAR away from the muggles, yeah? _

_XOXO,_

_Sofie_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Derek,<em>

_I hope you like the shoes I got you. You've got the same size as they said at the bottom. Isn't it just plain depressing when one of your cousin gets you boy shoes (really nice boy shoes but boy shoes nonetheless) for an early Hanukkah gift because he couldn't remember if I was a boy or a girl. I guess five years is a long time and all but that isn't an excuse for forgetting my sex. _

_I hope it fits!_

_Love,_

_Rachel _

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sofie, <em>

_No._

_Nice try,_

_Kurt_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Everyone,<em>

_Merry Christmas/Hanukkah! _

_I love you all,_

_Brittany_

_P.S. Lord Tubbington, and my parents too I guess, say hi! _

* * *

><p><em>Dear Reed,<em>

_You are VERY lucky you have Derek in such a short distance from your house. I am currently losing my MIND with so much FAMILY this year. SEND HELP._

_Love,_

_Kurt_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Rachel,<em>

_I hope that blouse I sent you from my mum's spring collection fits! I'm scared that it'll be too long for you (no offense intended I SWEAR). _

_Your friend, _

_Reed_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Brittany,<em>

_So I came out to my family like you said… It's been… different. I don't know how to describe it now, actually. But it's a good different. The funny thing is, I was so scared about my dad's reaction but he ALREADY KNEW! He said he's known since I was three and I asked for "sensible heels" for my birthday. That just puts a bit of a damper on the drama of it all but we hugged and cried and it was a little awkward. Finn was… he TRIED to be understanding but was only successful at making things very uncomfortable. Luckily Mum kept him quiet after… You know I'm not going to tell you what he said. It makes me cringe just reliving it in my head, let alone writing it down for you to read._

_Yes, it wasn't as bad as I thought it to be and I have only you to thank for that, Brit. _

_Love,_

_Kurt_

* * *

><p>One letter looked like it was written with a knife. There were some parts of the parchments that were torn, some parts had ink blotches, making it hard for them to read, and some parts had holes. But the gist of it was clear. They could practically <em>feel<em> Sofie's hysterics off the parchment.

_EVERYONE,_

_I saw Elias in Paris while we were walking down the Seine. I died. I nearly fainted. Olivia said hi to him and didn't just walk away with me like I told her to. It was too late anyway, I'm quite sure Elias saw me a mile away (which is both unnerving and flattering). Anyway it was really awkward because the children of the family were there. Thankfully my brothers didn't go bursting in since Olivia engaged in a conversation, pulling me in. Before I knew it, it was too late and Elias and I were talking. And I just can't. I don't know how to say this properly in WORDS. MERE WORDS! WORDS AREN'T GOOD ENOUGH I HAVE TO FIND NEW WORDS! It's just… We talked a bit. In French. (It was so sexy). And neither of us had anybody. I was surprised with him. AND THEN HE TOLD ME HE STILL FANCIED ME LIKE BEFORE. I nearly fainted. Again. I SWEAR to you, I was having a heart attack. _

_Then he offered to apparate me to the Eiffel Tower before I went home but then I knew that Mum and Dad would have a FIT if I did go. I'm very sure that Midas and/or Augustus would've ratted me out. So I had to politely (and PAINFULLY – SO PAINFUL THAT I LITERALLY FELT MY HEART CLAWING ON MY CHEST WANTING TO BURST OUT AND DIE ON THE PARISIAN STREET) declined. It was nice to see him, yes. But I don't think anything could happen between us. Not with some OCEAN between us. That makes me sad. _

_It was still the best Christmas surprise EVER though. And he promised he would write soon! _

_XOXO,_

_Sofie_

_P.S. There were four drafts of this letter and it's still messy. I'm sleepy I can't write any more. _

_P.P.S. He called me his "little Ravenclaw" HOW FUCKING ENDEARING IS THAT?_

_P.P.P.S. Now I have to think of a nickname for him. Bloody hell._

* * *

><p>One little letter didn't make it to an owl's claws though, a few days after Christmas.<p>

_Dear Anyone, _

_I've gained weight. I've gained weight and I hate it. I hate my body. I hate the way it looks at the mirror. I hate the way it jiggles. I hate myself for eating too much. Too much since Hayden. I hate him too. He did this to me. And I hate myself more because I am HONESTLY looking for someone else to blame other than myself. I hate this. I hate food. I hate this feeling. Why can't there be a potion to make me feel better? Why don't I know any spell that would help me lose weight? Why? Why is it SO HARD to lose weight but SO EASY to gain weight? That isn't fair. THAT. IS. NOT. FAIR. AT. ALL. I want to die. No wonder it was so easy for Hayden to dump me. I am ugly. So. Ugly. Lies. All of them lies. Beautiful? Cute? This is horrible. I am a horrid person in every way shape and form. _

_I just want to die. _

_Someone save me,_

_Derek_

* * *

><p>It was the day classes started again. Students from different houses dragged themselves out of their rooms and to the Great Hall, still feeling aftershocks of their holiday above their heads. All they want is to sleep just a <em>little bit more<em> so they could be ready. None of them were done with their holidays yet even if they were at Hogwarts again. Nearly everyone was reluctant to get out and seize the day. Brittany wasn't part of that "nearly everyone". In fact, she woke her roommates up herself. In her excited state, she forgot to walk with Derek to the Great Hall and walked with Ella and Erin instead. She only noticed that her friend wasn't there when she noticed the empty seat beside her. She smacked her forehead. "Oh my God, I've forgotten Derek!"

"It's okay Brit." Ella said, smiling a little, still tired. "I'm sure he'll understand."

Before Brittany could form a reply, Derek's roommates came to the table – sadly, without the Puff in question. "You bet he will. Bloody idiot's still knackered." Cody said as he sat down on the other side of Brittany. "He wouldn't wake up. I still think we should've hexed him out of his bed." Justin gave him a stern look to which Cody only raised his hands in defeat, diving into the breakfast selections as soon as the message was conveyed.

"He'll catch up." Terry smiled at Brittany. "Eat."

But Derek didn't catch up for breakfast. His blonde friend found him already sitting in their seat for Charms class, reading the last few pages of a book. There was a sense of foreboding in Brittany's stomach when she saw Derek just sitting there alone when she came in (though Rachel just went over and asked him why he was absent that morning). Brittany couldn't shake the feeling that she was forgetting something. Something important. Like that time she forgot that there was a Transfiguration quiz and she nearly killed Professor Button with a mispronounced spell. "We missed you at breakfast this morning." Rachel said as she slipped beside Derek, Brittany sat on the other side. "You must be really hungry."

"Nah." He answered, putting his book back in his bag. "I swung by the kitchens before getting here. I slept in, couldn't afford to be late!"

"Oh, okay." Rachel grinned as she took out her Charms book then sighed. "It's so strange not to have any more choir practices for the rest of the year, isn't it?"

"Look at the bright side!" Derek announced, wrapping an arm around Rachel's shoulders. "Think of the Quidditch games and the really fit Quidditch players."

The Slytherin laughed. "I'm guessing you've gotten the most of Sofie's letters."

"That's not _entirely_ true." His impending laugh was silenced by the entrance of Professor Flitwick. There was a sudden hush in the room and the only sounds coming at all sides was the sound of books being pulled out of bags.

* * *

><p>Derek Breaker hadn't eaten anything for a week and a half (his last meal consisted of an apple). He had successfully bypassed any known authority that expected him to eat with lies and wit and carefully crafted excuses he listed down the day of his breakdown. His biggest problem was Brittany, who had seen him like this before during dance camp. However, judging from the confused look he'd seen her wear the past couple of days they were back at school. He knew it was only a matter of time when all that thinking would spark a memory. It gave him enough time to think of some excuse – some <em>lie<em> – to get him out of suspicion. He felt bad for breaking his promise but he decided that once he was hot and skinny already he would eat normally again… Well not _normal_ normal because he would gain weight again.

The sad thing is, Derek didn't really think about his _other_ friends noticing his strange habits. How he always had something to study for before tea or how he always forgot something before breakfast. They noticed how he never finishes his meals, how he never stopped talking or sharing his food. Honestly, they weren't _all_ Brittany. The moment they mentioned their concern to the blond Hufflepuff she jumped into a rapid fire rant on how she should've known and how she couldn't believe Derek broke his promise. It was the angriest they've seen Brittany, until of course she started crying into Sofie's shoulder. They needed to stage an intervention soon before anything bad happened to Derek.

Since the situation was something really delicate, as in Derek wouldn't go down without kicking and screaming first (Brittany knew as much), they planned it carefully. But with the last leg of their fourth year education coming up, staging a "hey, we don't want you to become anorexic" intervention turned out harder than they thought.

* * *

><p>Kurt groaned into his Transfiguration essay. He couldn't simply <em>write<em> about transforming a pineapple to a shoe when he had a lot of other (admittedly dramatic and angsty and insignificant to school) problems to worry about. And it was due _tomorrow_. He was losing his touch and wished he was like Sofie, smart without trying that much. Inwardly he wondered if her "powers" would carry her through next year's O.W.L.'s and he hoped – in a moment of tired anger – that it wouldn't.

"What's up with you?" Julian asked, walking into the room, dropping his finished schoolwork onto his bed. "Your hair is touching the bed, when Kurt Hummel doesn't care about his pretty little do, you _know_ something's wrong." He chuckled and the other Gryffindor just groaned into his bed.

"Julian, I have no time for you, I'm trying to organize my thoughts." Kurt said and it was supposed to sound snappish, but with his face half-buried into his mattress, his desired effect of "go away" wasn't reached. His roommate raised his hands in defeat and silently walked to Kurt's bed, looking at the unfinished essay with a hint of satisfaction on his face. He'd finished that one the day it was given.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Julian sat down beside Kurt. "You're usually so organized."

He didn't know what possessed him to spill his problems to probably his least liked roommate (and that was saying something considering the fact that he roomed with a hyperactive dancer and twins who should be admitted to St. Mungo's for intensive psychiatric help) but it was just building up inside of him that it was just a matter of time before it spilled over to the nearest soul who was willing to listen. "I've got this essay to finish before the crack of bloody dawn not to mention the fact that I have a Muggle Studies quiz I _should_ be studying for but _do not_ have time for. One of my best friends is starving himself for whatever reason we can't fathom – I mean _yeah_ he gained a bit of holiday weight but there are other ways of losing that weight other than withholding _food_ _intake_. I don't even think he's _drinking _anything either. And to top it all off I have yet to come out to my friends and it's just so much harder to admit that you're gay to your friends, with whom you've became close to for the last four years of your life than to your family for whatever reason I can't really think of right now. Oh and my step-brother is constantly breathing down my neck because I think, I _think_, our father asked him to 'keep an eye on me' and it probably went like this 'your step-brother is gay, keep an eye on him for me because I constantly need someone to protect my baby now'."

"…Okay…" Julian's eyebrows were raised to their highest capacity. He patted Kurt's shoulder with a quick sound of amusement. "If it makes you feel any better, you being gay isn't exactly the most Earth-shattering concept. I think your friends would take it quite well."

"I'd curse you out of that window over there but I'm too tired to get mad." Kurt grumbled into the fabric of his bed. "Are you going to tease me? Talk about how unbelievably gay I am that I shouldn't even bother to 'come out'?"

Julian laughed. "Well, there's that." He paused before reaching over and taking Kurt's unfinished Transfiguration essay.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to give you some nice, well-earned advice, Hummel." Julian replied to the query, standing up and walking to his side of the room. "I'm going to do your Transfiguration homework, but you owe me help with my Potions since you're probably the greatest potioneer our class has ever seen for some absurd reason. Then for your friend, I presume it's that Hufflepuff you hang out with – Breaker. All of you need to get some backbone and tell him straight up that he needs to eat or you won't be friends with him anymore or something. Maybe get some rope and charm those and tie him to a wall then try to talk some sense into him. And finally, just tell them that you're gay, I don't think they'd care since your friend Breaker is about as gay as gay can get, other than you of course. If there was a gay contest you'd win by a _landslide_."

Julian sat down on his bed, taking out an ink bottle and dipping his quill into it, writing whatever needs to be written. It was like the whole mini-speech he gave Kurt was just run-of-the-mill conversation. Kurt didn't know if he should be infuriated that Julian was pretentious enough to just waltz in and think he's all high and mighty like that – also for insulting him slightly, or thankful that he actually gave him the advice he sorely sought. He was leaning on the former because no one talks to Kurt Hummel like that and gets away with it. However, Julian _did_ manage to have a point. And he was entirely too tired to really say anything other than a begrudging "thank you" before he fell into a little catnap.

Of course the twins jumped in and attacked the room with streamers and loud music they managed to produce from their wands about ten minutes after Julian covered Kurt with a blanket and finished the essay. Just as well, Kurt needed to study for a Muggle Studies quiz. With the extra time on his hands (Muggle Studies wasn't a particularly _heavy_ subject so he breezed through studying like a well-oiled Ravenclaw) he managed to cook up an intervention plan for Derek.

The plan was in motion the next day. All they had to do was wait for the following weekend.

At that point, Derek hadn't eaten for a month save for a strange snack here and there when he felt he was about to pass out – usually a whole mug of pumpkin juice or a cookie. He hadn't told anyone but no one really _had_ to be told. The lies were getting tedious: "no, I'm not hungry", "oh, I already ate", and the ever-so exasperating "I'll be in the library, I ate a bunch during tea". These were like his mantras, like if he said them enough times, he wouldn't be hungry anymore. But he was, he really was. He knew it was unhealthy but he thought it was the only way. And he was _so close_ to his goal. He couldn't help but at least nudge himself into the right direction just a little bit more. Just one more month, he told himself. One more month and he was going to be perfect. He could almost (ironically) taste it. No more drooping flab. No more pear shape. No more fucking boobs. He could be perfect.

But one day, it was like someone tested him. Someone had found him out and they were somewhat upfront about it. It wasn't like the blatant intervention like his friends (unbeknownst to him) were staging that weekend. It was a little more whimsical of sorts. It was time for Defence, the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs going together. By that time, Derek was looking deathly pale and Brittany and Kurt were just holding in comments for the great reveal four days later. Though they did _try_ to make Derek eat in front of them, which just ended up with them getting annoyed with the lies the Puff piled up in front of them. They gave up that day. His time would come. They would have their chance to scream at him. Apparently, someone beat them to it.

There on their usual desk sat a muffin. A banana one, no less. Right on top of the waxy paper covering the muffin, there was a note. "Eat me" it said and Derek was sorely tempted to.

Derek picked it up and turned to his friends who were trying to look nonchalant even if they shot each other questioning looks, silently wondering if this was part of the plan. "Did you put this here?" He asked, echoing their thoughts, with more edge than he originally meant.

"No." Kurt said in a clipped tone. He was ready to snap. "I've been with you since lunch, remember?" He was getting frustrated. He _did_ remark that not eating had made Derek dimmer than before and that it was seriously annoying him. The whole thing was annoying, honestly, and he couldn't wait for it to be all over. All this added problems Derek put on was seriously weighing them all down.

Derek looked at Kurt with a searching expression then turned his attention to Brittany, who shrugged. _Then who?_ He asked himself, surveying the room. His eyes landed on two blond heads and he immediately thought back to last year when the twins asked for a book. _But…No. No that's impossible. Nobody knows about this. _It was a lie to comfort himself.

It didn't stop for the rest of the week. Someone _knew_. Someone other than the usual circle of friends _knew_. Everywhere Derek went, there would be a cookie, a cupcake, or some small snack waiting for him with "Eat me" labelled on top in block letters. Every time, he would look around for two blond heads – the suspicion went to them, of course – but he never saw them at the scene of the crime. At some point, he considered the possibility that he was going crazy. After the third cookie in the week, Derek's resolve was edging away. He needed to eat something. But he couldn't just break his streak. Not now. So he threw it. He threw the cookie to the ground, telling whoever it is leaving him with snacks to "leave me _alone_" with his friends, and a couple of passers-by, watching him with surprised expressions. _Now_ he'd done it. They thought he was crazy. They knew. They all knew. Of course they knew. But this was just the thing they wanted to see. A concrete scene that Derek wasn't well. So he shook his head and ran off, crying as he did. Rachel, Sofie, Kurt, Reed, and Brittany were left speechless at the display of food violence. The five did a collective sigh.

"At least we're talking to him tomorrow." Reed murmured, leaning down to clean the broken cookie from the floor. His friends nodded in assent.

Further back, the Tweedles watched as Derek ran the opposite direction. There was no denying that they were the ones planting those snacks. They were surprised that his friends hadn't done anything, though they were certain that Kurt had something up his sleeve. But they grew impatient and the lack of food was seriously unbecoming for Derek that they just had to act. It wasn't like they would let their White Queen do that to himself. He was one of their characters; they had a small sense of responsibility. If anything happened to anyone, they'd swoop in, really. They watched from the side-lines as the five friends walked away. Kurt looked over his shoulders and caught their bright blue eyes amidst the crowd. They grinned.

"Do you think Kurt's going to ask us about this?" Ethan asked.

"Definitely."

* * *

><p>Rachel smiled as she saw Derek and Brittany emerge from the basements of Hogwarts, making Derek sigh a bit more breath. They hadn't decided to have a "talk" about it and it was going to be a nice afternoon at Hogsmeade. "…Where're the others?" He asked when they reached the landing.<p>

"Oh, they're probably coming down right now." She replied smoothly, walking to the other flight of stairs leading to the towers. "We should probably just wait; Reed must've fallen over again." A number of students were coming down the stairs, talking about their day's plans. All of which melted into an excited buzz of chatter making it impossible to really eavesdrop into one. Derek looked at his friends and told himself everything was back to normal.

"Hey there, sweet thing." Puck said, swaggering down the stairs. "Waiting for me to escort you to a good time at Hogsmeade?"

Rachel scoffed, ignoring the blood that was running towards her cheeks. "Run along Puckerman – go scam some other girl out of her pants or something. I already have plans with my _friends_." The Gryffindor and the Slytherin glared at each other, Rachel with contempt, Puck with unending amounts of annoyance. Girls usually fell for the whole "sweet thing" in one go. The last time he used that line, he got _two_ girls. The challenge was harder than he thought.

"You know, one day you're gonna _want_ me. I swear it." Puck announced proudly before turning his back to Rachel. "And I won't be there to catch you." He smirked over his shoulder, feeling quite smug at the expression of disbelief and aghast on Rachel's face.

Rachel flushed, trying to hush the butterflies that appeared when he shot that ghastly smile over his shoulder. "Over my dead body!" She laughed mockingly and turned to her friends, arms crossed. Derek and Brittany just looked amused. "Where are they? I want to forget about this whole thing."

Derek chuckled. "As if Sofie would let you live it down."

The singer huffed, staring up the stairs, waiting for the blessed person they assigned to "lead them" to the Room so they could talk to Derek. He was taking far too long. "And wipe those bloody grins off." She added as an afterthought, making the two Puffs giggle.

At last, the time came that a familiar curly headed boy bounced down the stairs. "Hey! Just the people I was looking for." Shane said as he dropped on the last step. "The Tweedles dragged your friends somewhere in the seventh floor, talking about something they found." The dancer shrugged. "Kurt told me to tell you. I'd go with you but I've made plans to hang out with my brother so… see ya!"

"Oh the Tweedles." Brittany rolled her eyes fondly, overdoing it just a tad but Derek didn't have time to suspect anything as the blonde pulled him up the stairs, feigning curiosity as to what the twins did to their friends. Behind them, the twins skipped along the corridor, carrying what seemed to be bottles upon bottles of unknown substance and it was going down the butterbeer barrels of the Three Broomsticks. Derek was none the wiser.

The assent was relatively normal to the three but when they arrived to the corridor where the Room of Requirement resided there was a shift in the air. Brittany and Rachel flanked Derek on both sides. They seemed to be bracing themselves for something. Derek noticed Kurt standing in front of the Room's door, looking at the three of them with his brave face on. "There you are." He said, opening the door.

At this point, Derek's heart was beating hard against his chest and all the blood came rushing away from his head. He was blanching. "W-What's going on?" Kurt just gave him a sad smile and nodded at the direction of the Room. Two figures came out, Justin and Terry. Derek looked at them with wide eyes as they grabbed his arms and pulled him inside. He didn't struggle. He was too shocked at the events.

"What's going _on_ is we've had enough of you not eating. Don't try denying it, Dere, we _know_." Reed said with unusual sternness in his tone which gave Derek a weird tingle of fright. The door closed and he was placed on a chair. The room was empty but it looked like their usual place with big windows and arches. But it was empty of their usual life. No chaises, no music, no books, no unicorns. It was unsettling. Then he looked at the faces around him. His best friends were in the Room as well as his roommates and this did _not_ look like an early birthday surprise.

Derek looked up at them and then his brain started working with his mouth for a bit. "You – You can't – I'm fine!" Fine? Was that what he really was? _Fine_? Somewhere deep down in his head he knew he wasn't. Time to time that would surface and he would push it down. His friends didn't seem to believe him either. They circled him and there was no use even thinking up an escape. He was stuck there until they had some progress. He didn't like the looks of it.

"Derek, we care about you and this isn't healthy." Rachel said softly even if she looked like a reprimanding parent with her arms crossed and her posture straight making her look taller.

"You promised!" Brittany cried and she wiped a few tears that were falling. She remembered what happened. She realized this was some sort of betrayal. Her heart couldn't handle that much emotion. "You promised you'd never do it again after dance camp!"

To see sunshiny Puff's face broken into something Moaning Myrtle would be proud of made Derek's heart ache, so he turned his face away and he started to cry. "I'm sorry it's just – it's just…" He fumbled. He didn't like what was happening.

"It's just _what_, Derek?" Cody asked with a tone that was unintentionally sharp.

Derek felt his throat close up and he scrambled for an explanation. His friends were bearing down on him with varied expressions from anger to disappointment. "It's just –" He began sobbing into his hands. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He had hurt them because of his selfish vendetta against himself. He was frustrated he couldn't think of anything to say. He was frustrated because all he wanted to do now was weep. He didn't want to look up anymore. He knew what they looked like – disgusted by this weak, desperate, insensitive boy in front of them. The more he thought about _them_ leaving him made his heart wrench uncomfortably. Just when he began to spiral out of control with choked sobs and tears, hands wrapped around his wrists in a very warm manner.

"Hey." Justin whispered as he pulled Derek's hands away from his face. "Shhh… breathe." The others sat down, trying to look less menacing. They were expecting a violent reaction like Derek had with the cookie. Kicking and screaming, denying and more denying – that's what they were expecting. They expected that they would have to squeeze a confession out of him. Maybe even put him in a full body-bind but this… This, though easier, was something they weren't prepared for. Not really.

Sofie nudged Reed closer (being the closest friend and all that) before she sat right behind Justin who was whispering encouraging words. Justin scooted to the left so Reed could kneel beside him. The others sat nearby, concerned. Brittany was crying into Terry's shoulder. Kurt placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it, hoping she'd calm down soon.

"Dere," Reed murmured, holding one of the Puff's hands. "Just tell us, Dere. We're here for you, you know that."

Derek looked up for a moment, their brown eyes meeting. His were bloodshot and puffy and still shedding tears. He sucked in a shuddering breath and tried to compose himself. "I…" He let out a sob and he felt Justin squeeze his other hand and he was grateful for it. He refused to look up at them though, still ashamed of what he was about to say. "I just wanted to be perfect." His voice caught at the end of the sentence.

"Perfect?" Sofie asked, incredulous and maybe a little bewildered.

Derek nodded sadly, still staring down. "To stop jiggling." More tears fell onto his lap. "To just stop being so bloody _fat_."

"Oh honey," Rachel began, moving forward with her knees. When she was close enough, she touched his shoulder, "you're not fat."

"I _am_!" He scowled, glaring at his lap, not wanting to look at any of them. Rachel's hand recoiled at the exclamation. "I'm fat. Have you seen me without a shirt? Have you? I _hope_ not because that is a right ugly picture." He sobbed some more and it was truly gut-wrenching sound to hear, especially with those words that preceded it. "I just want to stop it. I just want to have a nice body that doesn't move about like jello when I jump. I just want to _feel good_ about myself."

"Not eating isn't a healthy way and it's not the right way." Justin told him, rubbing his hand smoothly in a desperate attempt of comforting.

"T-The instructor said," Brittany blew her nose into her sleeve, "the instructor at dance camp said that you gain more weight if you don't eat." The memory seemed so fresh now that they were having this serious talk. She didn't like it and she didn't like that it was happening again. Derek didn't either but he thought he didn't have a choice.

"That's only if you pig out after eating something." Derek murmured bitterly though anyone who could hear didn't seem to acknowledge it.

"Derek, you're _not_ fat. You don't _have_ to be perfect." Sofie said firmly but kindly as she stood, pacing left to right. She felt upset with the whole situation and as she paced, she sought someone to blame. It started with Amos last year. She knew that but she didn't know it left so many injuries in Derek's self-esteem to cause _this_. At that point, she hated Amos and his friends more, for damaging one of her friends. She nearly gagged at the realization that she was housemates with those roaches. She turned to Derek. "_Especially_, not this way! You look fine! You don't have to torture yourself because you _are not fat_! We think you're perfect just the way you are!"

"I don't care what _you_ think!" Derek stood up, still crying. Sofie stepped backwards, thinking he might rush to her but he didn't. "So what if _you_ think I'm fine, so what if _you_ think I shouldn't lose any more weight, so what if _you _don't think my body is disgusting? What does that matter if_ I_ don't think that?" He put a hand on his chest. "It doesn't really matter, you know, if I just end up thinking otherwise. I don't want to feel disgusted with myself anymore when I see myself in the mirror! I just," he choked on a sob, "I just…" He fell back down to his chair and began to weep anew, feeling horrible. What had he just said? Did he really say those things? That he didn't care what they thought? _Bloody fucking hell, they're going to hate me now. I hate myself. God, why am I such a fuck up? _He looked up at them fleetingly before he was wracked with guilt. He needed to apologize. "I-I'm s-s-sorry." He started, his voice shaking, his tears running. "I-I'm a fuck up a-a-and I'm crazy a-and –" The apology ended there when Reed pulled him down into a tight and warm hug. His friend began rubbing soothing circles on his back as he wrapped his arms around the other boy. He sobbed.

"It's okay, Derek." Reed whispered. He wanted to weep too. He wanted to destroy everyone who caused this madness to attack his best friend's mind. He wanted to find a spell to somehow fix Derek… But he couldn't. This was the best he, or any of them, could do at the moment.

More arms came around the sobbing Hufflepuff. "We'll help you, Dere." It was Rachel speaking, her cheek pressed against his neck. "We'll help you feel better, watch your diet, all of that. Just don't… Don't do this to yourself again, yeah?" He felt a tear trickle down his neck. He felt something in the pit of his chest – a strange warmth that made him shed more tears. But it wasn't tears of anguish or frustration much like he had before, it was tears of thankfulness. Tears of love. He was so touched when he felt their arms around him, cocooning him, helping him keep together what was falling apart.

"We were just worried about you." Kurt said beside Brittany and Sofie. Derek looked up and he gave him a gentle smile. "We saw where you were going with that blow up and you don't need to apologize, not really."

"We love you, Dere." Brittany whispered, still crying.

They sat there, silent and just hugging each other until Derek felt like he was loved all over again. That even though his head wasn't really on right and even though he had frustrated, annoyed, and upset the lot of them, they still considered him as one of their friends. Their best friends.

"I'm getting a cramp. Can we stop hugging him now?" Cody announced and Derek was the first to laugh, followed by Kurt. It was so refreshing to laugh like that again. They untangled themselves from each other and sat back down. It was then they thought up their plans for Derek. And by the minute, the Puff felt more confident of losing weight.

* * *

><p>Time mends and time heals. Time changes and time alters. Time moves without anyone noticing. Just give it some time and it'll be fixed to some extent. Heartbreaks dull. Seasons pass. Problems blow over. Feelings changed and beliefs altered. Friendships, relationships, bridged again and again. Tests and quizzes answered, passed, and corrected. Books read, paintings painted, pictures taken, dances danced, and songs sung. Time passed for the six friends and it felt strange. Wasn't it only yesterday that they met on the train? That they bumped into Sofie in the library? It felt so near but they were actually nearly done with their schooling. Nearly fifth years. Nearly seventeen. They were more than halfway done with Hogwarts. Four years seemed like a short time for all those late afternoon conversations, for all those fun times, for all those corridor shenanigans after they had a little too many Honeydukes sweets, for all those petty fights and big fights (no matter how few those came). Time seemed to move too fast once they were outside again, boarding the train away from Hogwarts. In their own quiet way, they resolved to spend more time with their friends, to soak in every experience before they were thrust into the outside world of wizards and witches and muggles.<p>

"We're going to have O.W.L.'s next year." Reed commented almost mindlessly, leaning his head on the window as he watched the last of Hogwarts castle winking out of eyeshot.

"We are _screwed_." Sofie replied, taking a picture of him before she groaned. "You can't imagine the stories Augustus is spewing at me about O.W.L's."


	5. The Year with All the OWLs

**A/N: **Hi there. So I see it's been a year since I last updated and I don't know if anyone's still going to read this or still know what's going on. Basically they're growing up. Weeeeeeee. Well. I'm sorry I couldn't update faster. I would like to thank you in advance for reading it from start to now (I have two more chapters to go before I finish this thing). Thank you for liking it and reviewing it. Thank you so much for liking it. That deserved another point because rereading your reviews keep me going on. I know it doesn't seem that way because hi hello it's been a year but thinking about the few of you who genuinely read this and wait for it is a big deal to me and it keeps me going. I love you all.

* * *

><p>Brittany taped one last picture up in her wardrobe and sat down on her bed to admire her work. They were from Sofie – who didn't usually share he photos with the others but Brittany was a constant exception – and she <em>adored<em> Sofie's pictures so much. She could stare at them all day long, never getting bored, because _they moved_. Several years of friendship meant the inside of her wardrobe was completely lined with these photos – from scenery to group shots to individual shots. Her wardrobe was empty having already packed her clothes for her fifth year so no clothes hid the beautiful pictures.

"Brittany? Dinner is ready!" Her father announced outside the door, shaking her from her thoughts.

"Coming!" She called back, jumping from her bed and closing the wardrobe, locking it as well. Lord Tubbington followed after her lazily (it was a wonder how he went up and down the stairs. It's also a wonder how Brittany's able to carry him). The smell of dinner wafted throughout the first floor of the house, everyone who went down couldn't help but have their mouths water. Brittany sat down, grinning and already putting some chips onto her plate.

"Excited for Hogwarts this year, love?" Her mother asked, sitting down in front of the circular table.

"Oh yeah, totally." She answered, eating a bit of beef. "I'm always excited. This year we're having O.W.L.s. I thought we were getting owls for free but they're actually these exams. It's really sad because Lord Tubbington needs a new friend and I don't want him to _just _have Erik, Ellyse, and Alec. I mean, what if they fight?"

"Sure, love." Her parents paused to look at each other for a moment and looked at their daughter, who was eating like what she said was perfectly normal. They'd thought they'd be over this sort of thing when she became a teenager (_especially_ when they found out that she slept with most of the neighbourhood boys) but apparently, she was just as sweet and innocent and dim as she was when she was still a child. The very matter frightened them.

"So," her father coughed, "do you know what you want to be when you leave Hogwarts?"

Brittany chewed thoughtfully. "Well, no, not exactly. But I want to be a dancer. Maybe sing a bit, but dancing's really fun too."

"That's nice, Brittany." He nodded. "And your friends? What about them?"

"I dunno really…" She said, looking into her plate. "Reed's going after his mum's job, some clothes designer. They've got this shop in Diagon Alley, you've seen it. Rachel and Kurt want to perform –"

"Don't talk while your mouth is full, sweetheart." Her father admonished.

She swallowed quickly and continued. "They want to perform or something. But Kurt's been helping Reed with his designs last I heard from them, so he might go with him. But then his heart is pretty into singing. He confuses me. Sofie and Derek, I'm not really sure. They haven't really said."

"They should figure it out soon." Her father commented, raising a fork with a few pieces of chips on it. "It's nice to know what you want early on. You're nearly adults, don't you know?"

"Paul, really?" His wife sighed.

"I don't feel like it." Brittany shrugged.

"They're only fifteen."

"Well I'm just _saying_ that they should. When I was their age –"

"Can we _not_ do the whole 'when I was their age' bit?"

Brittany didn't listen while her parents bickered, mostly because she had forgotten what they were bickering about. Her mind wandered away to the promises the nearing school year brought. Five years of magic and she still felt like dancing every time she thought _I'm a witch_.

* * *

><p>In a beautifully ornate room laid papers of various drawings of clothes and two bodies under a thin blanket of those drawings. The gramophone was already at its end with the latest Haven album as it had been for the last six hours or so. It was a particularly cold morning but the sun was peeking from behind the clouds, though only barely. Outside, the trees already began to colour with red, orange, and yellow. Soon those leaves will fall and then snow will follow. But that wasn't happening just yet. Birds chirped happily, flying near the window as they did. At this point, there was a knock on the door.<p>

"Master Reed, Master Derek, brunch is ready!" Junie the house elf called loudly from behind the wooden door. Reed bolted from his bed. His hair was stained with a few different colours of paint, the unfinished painting leaning on the door of the bathroom. He stretched and yawned; dragging a paint-stained hand down his face, trying to wake himself up. To his left, Derek turned over, hugging one of the bigger books he owned to his chest as if it was a stuffed animal.

"We'll be right down, Junie." Reed announced, scratching his scalp through a mass of curly reddish blond hair. Derek groaned at his friend's voice and covered his head with a pillow, not wanting to wake up from his dreams just yet. The artist jumped from the bed, eager to grab some food, only to step on a pencil where he proceeded to stub his toe against his dresser. He cried aloud.

"Alright, alright, I'm awake." Derek groaned, rolling himself off the bed. His clothes were very loose when he reached his desired weight. He could've bought new ones but he liked sleeping in his big clothes. His hair was sticking up to many directions. He stretched, reaching up high, looking very slim now. Reed smiled to himself, proud that Derek was finally comfortable in his skin. The brunet wasn't even bothered with the stretch marks.

"Oh and Master Reed," the house elf continued as Reed massaged his foot and Derek took the unfinished painting from the bathroom door so he could use the toilet, "your mother is out again and won't be able to join you two for breakfast, or lunch, or dinner."

"I understand, Junie." _Why shouldn't I?_ Reed thought, sitting back on the bed as Derek occupied the bathroom (for a fleeting moment, he hoped his friend wouldn't fall asleep in the bathtub again). Hilde Van Kamp had been very busy for a long time now ever since she renovated her clothing store into a bigger version of itself. She's been in countless fashion columns throughout the wizarding world and she was about to start her own magazine! She was even moving into the Muggle world as well since wizards and witches often sent letters of Muggles asking where they bought their clothes. Hilde had always been busy since he could remember but this new type of busy just put the pressure on him. They had the beginnings of an empire and his mother hadn't been very subtle about her wishing that Reed would take over. He looked at his room, surfaces covered with drawings of models, swaths of fabric, notes from his mother, a new camera for him to practice photography… It was like his life was planned out for him, every last bit of it. Some security should've been felt. He should've been happy that he didn't have to torture himself with thoughts of where he was going to work and what career choice he wanted when he was older. But there wasn't any security. He couldn't name it but there was a creeping sense of foreboding he couldn't strike away.

His reverie was cut short by the flushing of the toilet. The door swung open and Derek shuffled out and fell into the bed again. "Time." He mumbled into the mattress.

"Five minutes to ten." Reed answered, banishing any thoughts about his mother and future away to the back of his head. He stood up to go to the bathroom.

Derek rolled over, looking animated. "Ooh, brunch! I _adore_ brunch at your house."

His friend grinned. "Happy birthday, by the way."

* * *

><p>There was an insistent knock on Sofie's door and a light buzzing that she tried to ignore, clutching onto sleep desperately. She loved sleep, she loved her bed, she loved her pillows, she loved not having to actually <em>do<em> anything. She held on to a whisper of a dream as the buzzing turned into mumbling and the mumbling turned into words. She scrunched her face, throwing a pillow over her head.

"Victoria Sofia Salvadair, it is _half_ _pass noon_ and your room is a _mess_!" Her mother announced as she pulled the pillow off her head. Sofie whined. "And I see you haven't packed for Hogwarts yet." Her mother looked to the side at the empty trunk.

"Late…er." Sofie said as she sat up on her bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Oh you better. Get your arse down to lunch." With that, the matron of the Salvadair clan left her room. _Finally_, she thought when she moved out of her bed and moved over discarded clothing, books, and shoes to get to her mirror where the comb resided. She fixed her tangled mess, putting in more effort now that she decided to let her black hair grow beyond her shoulders. She looked at the pictures that she stuck on the sides of her mirror. Some of them were empty while some of them were filled with conversing portraits. It was just like the paintings in Hogwarts and she simply adored looking at small versions of her and her friends. There were a few photos containing scenery – one of them was of Hogwarts. She picked up a discarded bra and put it on herself, grumbling a little bit.

Sofie turned around and sighed. Her mother was right about the state of her room and the emptiness of her trunk. "Well…" She looked outside of the window – a beautiful sunny day with a breeze. She looked at the crumpled remains of a failed letter in reply to Elias's letter which looked as pristine as it did when it arrived. "Better work on that one." She mumbled and tried to find the motivation to actually fix the room and pack for school. The promise of O.W.L.s wasn't much help.

There was a quick knock on her door and she turned to find her remaining brother (Midas has left for a job at the Ministry as well as his own place – _lucky bastard_), Augustus. "Get a move on, I'm starving." He left and she followed.

_O.W.L.'s_, she thought to herself and she felt like gagging. _What is it that I want to do anyway? All the other's got _something_. Even Brittany! I mean Derek doesn't, though I still can't get how he doesn't just want to laze around while his parents either bite it or retire._ She started to grin as she walked down the stairs towards the kitchen. Then she thought of Reed. Aggressive insistent as Hilde was, at least _he_ had _something_ to fall on. She didn't and that was scary even if she wouldn't admit it out loud. Depressing as it may be, she didn't think she was good at anything other than being herself which was a lazy book reader who takes pictures sometimes. No career for a person like her existed, she would know, she _tried_ looking. If things got worse, she'd try making one.

Sofie sat down for lunch and mechanically started taking food to her plate. _You know what this means don't you? You have to pass every single one of your O.W.L.'s because you still have no idea what you want to do._

_Why can't money just fall from the sky?_

_Hey, don't blame me. You're the one who's screwing yourself over._

She groaned as she placed some mashed potatoes in her mouth. _Great, now I'm having conversations with myself._

_At least you're not saying them out loud. _

Later that day, Sofie left the house to walk around Knackville with her camera in tow. She took a few random pictures – pictures of birds flying overhead, people milling about the bakeshop, the fields blowing in the wind, herself in those fields, sitting down, standing up (using a sturdy looking rock to keep her camera up). She wished she had some friends here but the closest person to her age here was Augustus and he didn't really want this sort of hobby for himself. If she had brought him along, he would probably be bored to tears. It's not like she didn't enjoy the silence and the peace, it was just more fun if she had someone to talk to.

Before going home, she passed by the local bookshop. It wasn't much. She got most of her books from Derek. However, she would come across at least one book from time to time that would tickle her fancy. There were new books in stock, all of them wizarding literature. She found herself in the romance section (she didn't realize she was already _that bored_) and scowled slightly at the titles (_what self-respecting author would entitle their book "Love Me Not, Wizard Boy"? Honestly._) Since the Young Wizard/Witch section was currently filled with stories of either werewolves, unicorns (which she was obsessed with some time before but now they all started to sound the same), and witch-in-the-Muggle-world-then-true-love-with-Mugg le, she decided it was time for her to head on home.

She bought some cinnamon buns for home and placed them on the table, taking one for herself. _Alright Sofie, time for you to fix your shit. _The moment she entered her room, she finished her cinnamon bun and jumped onto her bed, falling asleep beside her camera – letter unwritten, things unpacked, clothes on the floor until after supper.

* * *

><p>Every year in the Hudson-Hummel home, they have a nice big dinner the night before they were to leave for Hogwarts. Kurt and Carole insisted to do that, mostly because they wanted to do something flashy for dinner and actually use those cookbooks she bought. Goodness knows when they'll ever get a chance to make a soufflé and a cookie cheesecake. They would even use their own hands instead of wands for this occasion and it almost made them seem like a normal Muggle family. That is, until something accidentally spills or falls, then the wands come out to clean or fix.<p>

"I will never _ever_ do that ever again, Mum." Kurt said as he stomped back to the kitchen where his stepmother was cutting up some vegetables for the soup she was making. Her stepson put on his apron and continued mixing the batter for the cheesecake, throwing some crushed cookies in the mix. He shuddered.

Mrs. Hudson-Hummel paused. "…Did you see him…You know…" She moved her hand in the air in a poor attempt to do the gesture delicately. The two of them blushed and Kurt's face twisted with disgust at the thought of what she was insinuating.

"NO." Kurt gagged. "Oh wow, thanks for the visual. You're an evil stepmother."

She laughed. "Oh dear, I'm sorry." Kurt glared at her playfully, his lips quirking up a little bit with amusement. "Well if it wasn't _that_ then what was it?"

Kurt scrunched his face again to the thought of walking into his stepbrother's room and finding him masturbating. It took all of him not to vomit into the bowl. "He was polishing his broomstick and then he licked it." Kurt paused, thinking, then turned to his stepmother. "Well, he was licking it when I came in."

"I just wanted to know what it tasted like." Finn mumbled as he entered the kitchen, towering over everyone.

"Why?" Kurt asked, moving to take out the crust from the fridge.

"I was curious!" Finn countered, hefting the plates into his arms and reached for the silverware drawer. "And you could've knocked, Kurt."

Kurt scoffed. "I _did_ knock! If you only stopped playing your music _so loudly_ –"

"Boys!" Carole exclaimed, silencing the two teens. They mumbled apologies and turned back to their work – Kurt finishing the cake, Finn setting the table. Just then, they heard the front door open and the sounds of someone stretching after a long day at work. She stopped what she was doing and turned to greet her husband at the door.

"Get a whiff of that." Burt said, meeting his wife halfway with a kiss. "Gotta love these pre-Hogwarts dinners. Good evening, kids!"

"Evening!" Kurt and Finn called while doing their respective jobs – Finn was arranging the silverware, Kurt was cleaning up after himself. A sense of family enveloped the place as the patriarch filled the house with an anecdote of his day at the Ministry. Carole made her husband comfortable as she listened to his tale, taking off his robe, fluffing the pillows of his chair. Kurt checked on the cooking, making sure nothing got burnt or would burn the house down. At the same time, he would butt in into the conversation with a remark that would cause his father to guffaw and shake his head, commenting that his son was turning into a smart-ass. After which, Finn went into the kitchen, asking if he could help Kurt with anything. It was probably some sort of peace offering after he offended Kurt's eyes with that display of inappropriateness with his broom.

Kurt smiled, finding it rather endearing. "You could help me plate the food. It seems like our parents are having a nice time with each other."

* * *

><p><em>31<em>_st__ of August, Friday_

_The last day was productive. I've double checked my things, I've practiced no less than ten songs to wow the Nightingales with (I do wish that Derek and Kurt would at least let me sing ONE SONG, I mean I know I'm their friend and I KNOW Derek's going to insist on letting someone else sing solo just so they would come across as unbiased), two of which would be perfect for Halloween and four perfect for Christmas season, I've finished that book Derek and Sofie recommended to me (it was really good), and I've organized my music collection (again). It's already getting late and Ellyse is curled up on my lap, fast asleep. I'd sing to pass the time but Daddy L and V are also asleep and therefore I can't disturb them since they'll be upset that I'm still awake. I just find myself thinking a lot before I go to bed as the first of September approaches. Especially now since it's O.W.L. year. I don't think it's necessary for me to earn all my O.W.L.'s since I'm going to become a star but it can't hurt to keep my brightest witch of my year status up. Reed obviously serves as brightest wizard, right in front of Julian Larson. I wonder how Kurt feels about being third._

_Well I just reminded myself of my third year. That sucks. How is it that our minds IMMEDIATELY jump to the worst memories but when we try to summon happy ones, everything just falls flat? I can also recall a jumbled up mess of insults pointed at my look. I'm guessing it's one of THOSE nights again. _

_This entry has turned rather sour so I've started humming to myself to keep those thoughts away. I stress again, journal, that music is quite therapeutic especially with my perfect pitch._

_I'm hoping that this year won't entail any fights of some sort. A star can't shine on its own. A star can't be a diva all the time. A star can't have everything they want all the time. I should remember that before I want to crush someone's dreams in my pursuit of mine. It was a close call with Derek._

_Woke Ellyse up with my writing and shifting, she just threw herself off the bed and just continued where she left off. I fear she's spending too much time with Lord Tubbington and Alec… I also fear that I'm spending too much time with Sofie, Brittany, and Derek. _

_Is that such a bad thing? _

_I suppose not. _

_I've got no one to talk to except myself, I simply can't wait for my friends to remedy that tomorrow._

_I'll write to you again if I still can't sleep._

* * *

><p>"You're late." Kurt announced, his head towering over the girls' heads, as Derek and Reed rushed towards their group of friends – Mrs. Breaker walking briskly behind them. "I was expecting <em>more<em> from you, Derek Breaker. You're the organized one." He said loftily, making the shorter boy laugh and punch his shoulder. Kurt couldn't help but grin as he smoothed out the wrinkle Derek formed on his clothes.

"It's not like we missed the _train_ or anything." His friend retorted, rolling his eyes as he waved at his mum when she signalled that she would go ahead.

"Uh huh." Sofie nodded and began walking beside him. "So I can't assume that you and Reed had a rough little night last night?" She wiggled her eyebrows and the two boys blushed.

"No we _didn't_." They said in unison, making their cheeks to go redder. Sofie laughed and began to thrust her trolley faster, overtaking Rachel and Kurt who were in the middle of a conversation about this year's choir competition held in Cross School of Magic. Brittany rushed after her, giggling as Lord Tubbington began to meow lazily in his cage, obviously used to his owner throwing him around in one form or another. Kurt looked over his shoulder and grinned at the other two, still blushing. After Kurt's coming out during their two-weeks-before-class get together at Diagon Alley, the girls were on Reed's case, joking that he needed to come out immediately because _they all knew_ it was going to happen in the end. Sofie even quipped that Derek and Reed were having an affair with each other (first kiss still kept secret). Reed _did_ manage to get in the fact that he wasn't aware of where he swung since he neither had feelings for any boy nor girl at Hogwarts. Still, they threw some funny jabs when they felt like it.

Reed tripped just as he was about to talk to Derek, wondering what sort of O.W.L.s a future fashion-person-like-my-mum would need. His trolley was pushed forward just enough for someone else's trolley to bang against it. Eric, his owl, hooted indignantly, both at his owner _and_ the crasher.

"What's goin' on 'ere?" Someone asked, probably someone from security. Reed looked up and groaned. It was the Anderson brothers. Blaine was already speaking to the security personnel as he helped his brother to an upright position. Rachel was already helping Reed off of the ground and Kurt was dusting the outfit clean of King's Cross dust.

"You alright?" Shane asked, checking for any bruises or cuts on the shorter boy. Reed looked up and Shane was taller since the last time they saw each other.

"_I_ should be asking _you_ that." Reed said, making Shane chuckle fondly.

"I'm the sturdiest Gryffindor around." He replied with a shrug and a bright grin.

"I trust everything's fine and dandy?" Blaine asked, pulling Reed's trolley towards him, already upright and arranged. He did a subtle up and down eye sweep on Kurt before turning back to Reed with a winning smile. (Though he did a sweep, he didn't notice the light blush that peppered Kurt's cheeks when he approached.)

"I've had worse." Reed quipped, taking his trolley back. "Thank you."

Blaine nodded before taking out his pocket watch. "We better get a move on. Seven minutes until the train leaves." He shot them a smile and turned to leave. Shane waved and left with his brother.

"Be careful next time!" Shane called over his shoulder.

The four friends continued as if nothing really happened (Reed limped a little bit and Kurt was still blushing). They didn't see Sofie or Brittany when they entered and decided that they were already ahead, looking for a place of their own. That theory was proven when they found Brittany's head sticking out one of the compartments as she talked to her parents. "What took you so long?!" Sofie exclaimed as they passed by.

They put their baggage in the baggage compartment without any more accidents. Rachel, however, was a little miffed by the fact that Puck was there and _dared_ to help her with her trunk with that disgustingly attractive smirk of his. She wanted nothing more than to escape his presence immediately. Derek lost no chance to tease her about it, claiming that one day their passionate arguments would turn into passionate love-making. She expressed her idea of vomiting on Derek's coat (the same double-breasted coffee coat that he found two years ago that now perfectly fitted him). He stopped teasing the moment they entered the compartment Sofie and Brittany procured, setting their cats free to have fun with Lord Tubbington.

"So! Co-captains of the Nightingales," Rachel began once the train was moving out of the platform, "any plans for this year's escapade to Cross?"

"Oh yeah, totally!" Derek began, rummaging through his bag, pulling out a battered looking notebook they were _positive_ wasn't that damaged two weeks ago. "And Professor Schue was very helpful during the summer, so was Lorien. We're doing another Halloween fundraiser, and I've already got ideas listed down right here." He pulled out a couple of folded parchment, writing barely legible to the others. Clearly Derek lost most of his sleep because of his excitement for this year's choir schedule. "So the more songs to sing the merrier, and if you're up to it, Rachel, you could be the star. We still have some money left from last year so we can lower the price to ten sickles per head. We also need scarier tactics for the Corridor of Horror. Lorien got me the plans from a couple years back and –"

"Wait!" Rachel cut in, looking up from the parchment of scary things (that's what it said on the top). "You're already asking _me_ to be the star of the concert?"

"Yes." Kurt said with a tight smile, wishing that she wouldn't cause a scene before the year even _really_ started. Derek looked uncomfortable though relieved that Kurt decided to speak for him. "Derek and I thought that since you're going to be singing lead for Halloween, we could give the others the chance to shine in the competition…" He gauged Rachel's expression and she was so easy to read. She clearly wished they told her beforehand and she was a little annoyed that she was given the less glamorous Hogwarts slot.

Nonetheless, she accepted her fate. At least she was singing a solo somewhere in Hogwarts other than her reflection as her adoring audience (her roommates were mostly unhelpful). "Fine. But five solos."

"Three, one duet." Kurt negotiated, eyes narrowed. "You get the final slot."

"Deal." They shook hands.

The people in the compartment sighed with a breath they didn't know they held in. Rachel rolled her eyes. "I'm not some time bomb!" She complained.

"Kinda are." Sofie countered as she took a picture of the moving scenery like it wasn't that much of a big deal.

"Better safe than sorry." Reed shrugged.

"You're auditioning this year, aren't you?" Brittany asked, cuddling with Alec on the floor, the other two cats were sleeping – Ellyse on top of Lord Tubbington. "Auditions are on the first Tuesday." She added. Derek mock glared at Reed.

He laughed. "Yes, I am, I am. As if those late nights with Derek talking about costumes for this year's competition were any indication of that." Derek started carding his fingers through Reed's curly hair. "Plus, Derek would forcibly drag me there if I didn't."

"Good pet." Derek cooed, making Reed swat his hand away, laughing.

"How about _you_, Sofie? You're going to be all alone for a month if you don't audition." Brittany asked again, putting her head on the seat right beside Sofie's bum. "And it would be wicked fun if you came with us!"

Sofie chuckled. "What? And make a fool out of myself? Brit, I am unable to sing, much less dance. You've seen me dance, it's horrid!" She slid back into her seat and smiled at the other girl. "Besides, I'm a big girl now, I can take care of myself for a month without you lot. Who knows? Maybe I'll be saner."

Kurt snorted. "Please, _you're_ the crazy core of this bunch."

His friend wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Really Kurt? Snorting? That's _so_ un_lady_ like of you." She said with a very posh accent as she ran her fingers through her hair daintily. Kurt threw Derek's notebook at her, sending a few papers everywhere.

"Hey! I organized that!"

* * *

><p>Going back to Hogwarts was filled with dread and excitement. The dread of facing another school year with O.W.L. lessons and teachers who would do everything in their power to get them to have exemplary grades (they didn't want to even <em>think<em> of what Professor Sylvester had in store for them) and the excitement of seeing the castle and all its wonders once again. Most of them embraced it, home away from home, escaping lousy parents, annoying little siblings who are just figuring out their magical potential and are destroying your room, or boredom. It was always like that, always like a normal boarding school. You don't necessarily want to go there for academics but rather go there to see your friends again. There _is_ the matter that the teachers teach magic that Muggle-borns find _most_ intriguing year after year. It's only the ones with magical backgrounds that find classes truly cumbersome.

As students began to fill the halls with noise and life, the teachers put the finishing touches to their lessons. It won't be long before the Great Hall opened to the upper years, for them to sit and wait for the first years that were arriving soon. It was a new year with new students and new lessons to be learned. A new year for new friendships and hardships. A new year for new experiences each student will face.

Going back to Hogwarts was filled with dread and excitement for what is to come.

* * *

><p>Excitement and dread were what a certain Ravenclaw felt. Reed and Derek had practiced Reed's audition for a while and there was no need to panic. Reed was a little fidgety, looking up at the closed choir doors with a bit of apprehension. Everyone told him it was going to be fine and that there was <em>nothing<em> to be afraid of. And with his long line of injuries and physical tragedies, Reed couldn't help but hope he didn't somehow make the choir room explode.

"You look like you're going to have a heart attack." Sofie commented, patting his back. Aside from her, their Nightingale friends were already inside with Professor Schuester, possibly giving opening remarks for the new school year. Too bad, he needed their comfort. And Josh, his roommate, was busy talking to someone else.

"Wouldn't you?" He countered.

She shrugged. "There are a _lot_ of reasons why I don't want to audition. This being one of them – I don't do well with an audience." She mentally noted that at least Reed wasn't hysterical like Derek was. She thought that if she slapped Reed like she slapped Derek last year, there would be _serious_ repercussions (such as a bloody head and a few scratches). "Don't stress about it, you'll be fine." She chuckled, shaking his shoulders. "If Rachel Berry told you you'll get in on the first try, you _will_ get in, yeah?"

The doors opened and Professor Schue told them to enter with an excited grin on his face. Josh looked towards Reed and he just waved his roommate towards the door, motioning for him to go first. Sofie raised one eyebrow, somehow reiterating the things she said through the gesture. Reed nodded and gulped. "Yeah." Then she wished him luck as he entered with the others. He made eye-contact with a few Ravenclaws he knew, one of them his prefect, Logan Wright. Said Ravenclaws nodded back with encouragement. Brittany and Rachel waved from the back and he replied with his own shy wave.

Derek nudged Kurt, urging him to speak. It was their first day as legitimate co-captains and the Puff was as nervous as he was the previous year. "Welcome!" Kurt said after rolling his eyes at his fellow captain. "I'm Kurt and this is Derek," the shorter boy did a small waving gesture, "we'll be your choir captains for the next three years if you get in the Nightingales." He smiled congenially at the auditioning students, easing the tension just a smidge. "Don't look so frightened, we'll be nice."

"I'll be nice," Derek cut in, blurting it out without a thought, "I can't make any promises for this one." He finished, nudging Kurt with his hip. There was a slight chuckle echoing through the group. Derek felt a boost in confidence.

"Let's not waste any more time." Kurt said pointedly towards Derek and he stuck his tongue out. It felt easier all of the sudden, hearing them react positively to his humour. The Nightingales were all about making new friends, connecting through song and dance. Derek felt like he had those new friends already. "Oh real mature." The auditioning students felt a little more at ease as they watched the two banter and joke a little bit. The room felt less hostile. The captains sat on either side of the choir director as he called the first name (thankfully not Reed's) while Reed and the others sat beside friends or people from their house.

"I think I'm third on that list." Reed announced, twiddling with his fingers. Josh bumped their shoulders together.

"Don't be so nervous, out of all of us here, you're one of the sure fire firsts to be on the Nightingales." His roommate grinned. "If I didn't hear you sing a few times before, it'd be a _crime_ for you to get in."

"Not exactly helping with the nerves but thanks for trying."

Josh ended up being right, Reed's name graced the first slot on the list of New Nightingales and it was well earned. Six new recruits joined the choir's fold and the others wasted no time getting to know them. The Nightingales weren't _all_ terrifying, except of course Santana, Logan, and possibly Rachel. But as soon as that ended, _everything_ else started.

For the fifth years and seventh years, they all knew it was the year of O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, which meant the frightening maximization of every single class they had. That first couple of weeks were _brutal_ with what felt like a million concepts being taught and a billion essays to be done. Quizzes and schoolwork left and right. The library steadily filling with students desperate to get the grades they wanted (and grades their _parents_ wanted). Derek and Brittany bemoaned the fact that they couldn't get to the internet at Hogwarts. ("Tell me again, what exactly _is_ the internet?" Sofie asked.)

They barely had any breaks, and the only real time they had with their friends was when they were in the library with dozens of different students. Sofie was _glad_ she didn't join the choir (or had any ability to) because _they_ still had practices amidst the gruelling demands of O.W.L. level subjects. _Augustus was right_, she thought one day when she found Reed wearisomely walking across the Ravenclaw common room one night when she couldn't sleep. _This year's a bitch_.

* * *

><p>"You are dismissed." Professor Button announced and there was an audible sigh throughout the room. Transfiguration was probably one of the hardest since it required the most precision and perfection. One wrong move and something can go horribly, horribly wrong with the spell. The students began exiting (escaping) the room for lunch, desperate for some energy to get them through the rest of the day.<p>

"Micah," Sofie said as she _finally_ managed to push herself to a standing position. "Would you please get Derek off his arse? I'm starved." Micah looked up from a book (Derek's), appearing less haggard than the others, and nodded.

He nudged Derek with the top of the book and he sat up, groaning. "I don't think I'm going to survive this year." He said as he began packing his things as though moving was probably the most disgusting sin he's ever done.

"It's only the first month." Micah chuckled, handing Derek's barely read book back. It was such a crime that Derek hadn't been able to finish five books in the last month due to school work. "Don't give up now."

"It's only the first month? Really?" The other boy countered as he stood up. "It feels like twenty."

"Oh don't be such a drama queen." Sofie bumped their hips together and he smiled a bit. "We will survive."

"Are we singing that now?" Brittany asked airily as they exited the room. Her hair would suggest that she slept through most of the class (which she would've if not for Reed's constant interruptions), with strands spilling from the ponytail she put her hair in.

"Not today, love." Sofie answered, hugging her with one arm.

"Maybe for Halloween." Derek added jokingly before going back to his book discussion with Micah.

"Speaking of Halloween, how are you holding up at choir?" Sofie chirped as they turned the bend of the corridor, nearing the Great Hall. Brittany and Reed groaned.

"I have bruises on my bruises." Reed rubbed his arms, as if the very mention of any sort of choir practice made his injuries hurt. "Luckily – if you could call it that – with Derek's adept organizational skills the work load was divided after the first week. At this rate, we're going to be ready for the choir competition before Halloween comes – costumes, routines, songs… And then we'll die."

"I've never danced so much, like, ever." Brittany told them. "This year has a lot of work; I don't think I could even manage a snog anymore let alone a shag…"

"Think of it as a good thing." Kurt appeared on Brittany's side. Rachel was limping right behind him.

"What happened to you two?" Reed inquired, aghast at the look of his friends – hair mussed, clothes singed, skin covered in what they hoped to be just dust.

"Sue Sylvester." Rachel and Kurt intoned in unison – a Slytherin walking nearby winced. Upon further observation, they noticed that groups of Gryffindors and Slytherins were working the same harassed visage. Reed gulped.

"I suggest you steel yourselves." Kurt sighed, giving up on his ruined hairdo. Everything was sticking out and never turning back. "I'm telling you, that lady is completely off the bonker train and fell into a sea of mad."

"She made our tables attack us in the middle of class." Rachel shuddered. "Then she yelled over our panicked state that dark wizards attack without warning, afterwards she made those tables breathe fire."

"Now defend yourselves!" Kurt crowed in a poor attempt to imitate the defence professor's voice. Brittany, Rachel, and Reed chuckled fleetingly. Reed looked over his shoulder, hoping the scary professor wasn't behind them, listening in. "The twins seemed to enjoy themselves." Kurt added with disdain.

"At least we know what –" Sofie began.

"There's no use telling your friends," Kurt crowed again, "I have different plans for them."

Sofie and Reed looked at the taller boy, and then Sofie shook Reed's hand. "Nice knowing you Reed."

"I have to go back to Gryffindor. I can't continue my day like this." Kurt gestured to himself, disgust evident on his face.

"Have fun!" Derek grinned and ruffled Kurt's hair before skipping into the Hall, laughing as he narrowly escaped his friend's wrath. Micah waved them goodbye and walked calmly to the Ravenclaw table.

"Yeah, have fun." Brittany smiled and skipped after her fellow Puff.

"Best of luck to you _and_ your hair." Sofie patted Kurt's back and went into the Great Hall, followed by his other friends save Rachel, who was still busy tying her hair back in a low ponytail, hiding the fact that it was partly singed at the bottom.

"Hate to find out what Professor Sylvester has planned for _next_ lesson." She commented once her hair was tied in the manner she wanted. They shuddered with unconcealed horror and then had a nagging feeling that their Defence professor could smell their fear. Kurt envied the fact she could do _just that_ and look presentable (if you ignored the line of soot covering her cheek and her Slytherin tie). "See you later, Kurt." Rachel waved goodbye and hobbled into the Hall for lunch. Kurt was suddenly reminded of Nightingale practice that afternoon and wondered fleetingly if he could somehow get out of practice. He _was_ one half of a whole captain team… A moment later as he neared the stairs, he imagined an afternoon of napping on his bed, cuddled under his red sheets was shattered when he realized that Rachel, Santana, and the entirety of the fifth and seventh year Nightingales would barge in and drag him out anyway. And with that, he resigned himself to get up there, fix his hair, and get back down for lunch so he could _at least_ marginally survive the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>If someone were to burst into the choir room at that moment, they'd be met with no attention whatsoever, or maybe a knockback spell from a disgruntled member. The room was in complete ruins – fabric covering almost every available surface, music sheets on the floor with scratches of ink, water goblets littered around the room, spells flying about with choir members moving back and forth without an accident (Reed stayed in one spot). In fact, someone would <em>have<em> to be crazy to enter such a room. They didn't have just one performance to get ready for, they had two, and the first one (the Halloween one) needed a lot more charmwork.

The Nightingales hadn't worked this hard in a couple of years. Though they prided themselves with the ability to pay for costumes, props, and portkeys on their own through the years since the group's founding, that didn't mean they enjoyed every moment of it. The leads for the choir competition practiced with Professor Schue on one side, a silencing charm covering them, while the Halloween leads helped with choreography, costume design, or special effects since their songs needn't much practice. The sixth and seventh years handled most of the effects with some minor input from the younger ones.

Songs were chosen ahead of time, songs that didn't make the competition or to other performances were resurrected and polished and redone with better choreography and arrangement. It was easier that way, though suggestions for songs were still open at this stage but in only for small groups or solos. Rachel was pleased with her "three solos and duet" slot in the Halloween fundraiser. And since her duet was with Mercedes, their practice times were easy to get into in their dorm room, much to some people's (Lauren Zises) dismay. She helped with the other performers with their songs. She might've been the most annoying girl in the choir but even so, her critiques made sense. However, she stayed clear of Santana, who got a number for the competition, as she explicitly threatened her not to say anything about her performance unless asked directly.

Derek and Brittany were with choreography, having clearly enjoyed their dance camp experiences. Brittany played a more active role though. She was one of their best dancers which sort of balanced out her lack of academic intelligence. Derek, on the other hand, would promptly memorize the steps, hoping to perfect them so he could help teach the others. The more familiar the others were, the more smoothly the performances would go. He wasn't much of a choreographer but he followed dances pretty well. As the moves got easier and easier, he decided to rest his feet and wandered over to the table where they were planning all the other events and entertainment during Halloween, most especially the Corridor of Horrors 2.0, which was, if all goes accordingly, the scarier than the first.

Kurt and Reed spearheaded the costumes, leaving barely any room for help except for live models to sample the way the shirts fit, the way the skirts flew, the way the light caught the fabric. The Nightingales had never been better clothed. Reed had his mum look over the designs and pleaded her to reply ASAP. The comments and corrections were often cold and covered with disapproval something Reed was perceptible of right from the moment he saw the first sentence. He also noticed the lack of critique on Kurt's parts in the costumes, something that _should_ speak volumes to his mother that he wasn't entirely cut out for the fashion industry. Unfortunately, she must've chosen to ignore it. Nonetheless, he followed instructions, hoping to better himself in the eyes of his mother (who had yet to confirm her inclusion in the audience). His fellow singers all agreed that Kurt and Reed's designs were top notch. But Reed often wondered if he'd ever be good enough to get even a smidgen of praise from his fashionista mother. While he sat down watching a third year boy and a fourth year girl modelling the costume for the second part of their competition set and Kurt was commenting enough for both of them, Reed wondered. What of his future? In two years' time he'd be out of school and what career would he get? It's like a sudden realization that Hilde Van Kamp had been working up to _this_ future, Reed being the crowned prince of the Van Kamp fashion empire that was taking the whole _world_ by storm. His destiny was staring right back at him. It didn't feel like him, sure he loved fashion just as much as Kurt but to be like this mother…

How was he getting out of this?

"Reed?" He quickly snapped out of it and turned to the voice – Kurt's to be exact. His friend had eyebrow arched with inquiry. He'd obviously missed a question or comment or need of assent making him flounder for a moment. Kurt noticed the lost look on the other boy's face and his expression softened. He turned to the models. "Could you try group number costumes for Halloween? I want to see if the girls won't have accidents and if boys won't look too boring compared to the girls." They eyed Reed warily and followed instruction without as much as a whisper. "Is there something wrong?" Kurt turned to him. Reed shook his head and Kurt huffed. "Let's not have a Derek Breaker repeat, please?" He massaged the bridge of his nose. "Speak."

"Not here." Reed stood up; a costume rack teetered dangerously but didn't fall. "Just not now, please." Then he walked over to Brittany, who was watched the short scene.

"You okay?" Brittany asked tentatively, swaying a little bit to ease some tension.

"Mum thoughts." That was all he needed to say before Brittany hugged him quickly. She didn't really get what's so wrong about it but she picked up on the tiredness of his voice. Reed sighed. "Teach me that second competition routine without me falling over and killing our chances to show our faces to any show choir competition ever again." They laughed and Brittany started from the top.

"So first step…" She began, her body easy to shift from standing to dancing.

At the other side of the room, Derek and Kurt looked at each other. Derek nodded at him: Brittany could deal with Reed for tonight. Kurt nodded back: they'd have to talk about it soon.

After another long night, Professor Schue and his co-captains decided that they deserved tomorrow as a break. It was welcomed readily as most of the choir left as soon as the announcement touched their ears. The room was in complete disarray, water goblets strewn across the floor with some music sheets under them, the costumes and excess fabric was thrown on top of the clothing rack, chairs in all sorts of weird positions, and some litter littered with the rest of the junk. Too lazy to tackle homework, too tired to move from the choir room to their respective houses, a handful of singers were left with the mess.

"You lot gonna be fine on your own with…?" Professor Schue gestured to the seemingly hazardous room, standing halfway through the door.

"Sure, why not?" Kurt answered, hands on his hips, looking up at the stray fabric that _somehow_ got stuck to the roof.

"Cheers, see you all tomorrow." The choir director grinned and left them alone.

"Let's get to it, I need to pass out." Derek began arranging the Halloween plans – schedules, events, prices, prizes, booths, movies – everything for it to go smoothly. If these plans managed to disappear from the face of the Earth, then Derek would definitely _lose it_.

"Same." Mercedes stood up and helped fold the excess fabric as Reed rearranged the costumes to the correct classifications. "But we are doing this with some a capella action."

"Couldn't agree more, Mercedes. We haven't practiced for our song today." Rachel twitted as the spell she uttered made the fallen sheets of music and litter fly towards her slowly. "And Lauren promised to punch us the next time we sing in front and/or near her ever again." She began the song and her roommate was sure to follow. Their voices coated the room with a beautiful melody that made cleaning up somewhat bearable with their weary bodies.

As the song reached its end, there came a voice. "Knocky knock, duckies." They all turned to the door where Terry, one of Derek's roommates, and Micah were standing. "I don't know how long you intend to stay here but I want my roommate back." He waltzed over to Derek, who was filing the sheets of plans back to their original order. "Ooh, what's this?" He grabbed the largest piece of parchment. "The coveted Corridor of Horror part two plans!"

"For Nightingales only, Mr. Epperson!" Derek chided, taking back the parchment, making it roll into itself with magic.

"But I'm your roommate." Terry whined, wrapping his arms around Derek's waist and the other boy started smacking him with the stack of plans.

"_You_ have been studying too much." He laughed.

From the chairs that flew overhead and into neat stacks, Micah chimed in, "Sofie would've come with me, but she was just about ready to fall over."

Beside him, Brittany looked worried. "…She didn't _really_ fall down… Ravenclaw tower is really high up, you know."

"Yes… I know, that's my house." Micah smiled, patting the girl's arm.

"I don't blame her." Blaine mused as a big ball of litter floated up to level with his face and he made it disappear without saying any words. "O.W.L.s work a number on the fifth years' mental endurance. I'm afraid of what'll it be like next year with N.E.W.T.s."

"True that." Wes, a sixth year Ravenclaw, added, placing the last water goblet on the top of the goblet pyramid he and his roommate, David, made. "I'm still surprised I even got through that Transfiguration exam in one piece."

"Are the O.W.L.s really _that_ bad?" Kurt inquired, pushing the costume rack to one of the cupboards at the far end of the choir room.

"Truthfully?" David grinned. "Yes." Kurt blew out a breath. He sat down on the platforms and surveyed the room. He didn't know how much time passed. His hair felt grisly and his bum was still aching after sitting for who knows _how_ long. But he smiled nonetheless, happy for the productive night they had, even though he didn't really study for anything since the last class had gone. _I'll do everything else tomorrow_. He conceded and pushed himself from the floor.

"I need a bath." Kurt announced, scooping his bag from the piano.

"Me too." Derek mumbled, rubbing his face. "Let's hope I don't drown in the shower."

Brittany snorted, throwing her arms around his neck and hung on his back. "Silly, you can't _drown_ in a shower, don't worry!" Derek laughed and bent down so she could jump on him. "Yay piggyback!"

"You still have energy for that?" Rachel said through a yawn.

"It's not like Brit's particularly heavy." The boy grinned as his friend grabbed his hair and urged him to go faster like a rider to a horse. The corridors were nearly empty, save for a few students walking back to their houses and a few ghosts ghosting about. The group settled to an almost comfortable silence broken by small bubbles of conversation. Other than that, there wasn't anything to say. Just as they were about to part ways, Mercedes and Rachel sang their number again, subsequently serenading Brittany to sleep who was now on Blaine's back (much to the mild jealousy of a certain Gryffindor). The Slytherins (still singing) and the Hufflepuffs went one way and the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws went the other, smiling and waving. A week until show time and they still had some work to do.

And what a short week it was.

Nightingales were running left and right, through doors, through arches, on the courtyard, in the Great Hall – _everywhere_. No one was busier than Derek Breaker. He started to regret heading the plans and not being able to write more legibly. He had to check the movies by the lake and how the technology was fairing. He had to go into the Corridor of Horrors on his own to check if everything was going according to plan. The various booths still needed approval, though he was sure the Tweedles would _still_ include that "catch the flying bag of money against Bludgers" thing over the lake (which would _totally_ distract from the movies) and the supposed founding of a new sort of sweets by a couple of Ravenclaws remained _incredibly_ questionable. Thankfully the main performance was headed by Professor Schue and Kurt, taking _that_ load off of his hands.

Derek walked to the courtyard where a few booths were setting up with signs like "bobbing for biting apples" and "hit me with your best spell" going up. He was already approving and disapproving a few concepts when the Tweedles breezed pass him with brooms and a box that obviously held the Bludgers hovering after them. "Halt!" He said, turning to them and turning away just in time for a sneaker with wings to fly into the space where his head was. Evan and Ethan stopped.

"Yes, White Queen?" They chimed, grinning down at him.

"I told you not to do the Bludger thing!" He cried, flapping his arms around. "Not only is it dangerous to the idiots crazy enough to actually _pay_ for this, it's dangerous to the people who just want to enjoy a horror flick by the _peaceful_ lake!"

"But we've got _loads_ of customers already!" Evan retorted, grabbing his captain's hands into his. Derek tried pulling away but to no avail. "They're willing to pay for this bag of money!" Ethan showed a bag of money that was charmed to move in the air, and it was squirming in the other twin's hold. "_Please_ let us do it!"

"I _told_ you, Tweedle." Derek pried his hands from Evan's. "No! I don't want to be held responsible for anyone sent into the hospital wing!" He started walking away. "Go help with the Corridor of Horror; it needs a bit more finessing with the snake rain as well as the room full of boggarts. And keep those brooms!"

"But helping is _boring_." Ethan protested and they followed after him. "Even _with_ snakes falling from the faux sky. Let us do _this_, Derek!"

"Please!" They pleaded.

Derek rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Look, I just don't want to get into trouble."

"And you _won't_!"

"See this?" He lifted the plans. "This _means_ I'm technically responsible of what goes on with the booths, the movie, and the Corridor, _and _20% of the show. If anyone gets hurt, it'll be because of something I neglected to do. So _please_ do me a favour and don't get anyone hurt. Now if you will excuse me, there are some sweets that need to be checked for dark mag –"

"What if we do it in the Quidditch pitch?" Ethan interrupted, bending down to Derek's height.

"You really want to do this, don't you?" The Puff looked into those eager blue eyes. They nodded. He wavered, the Quidditch pitch _was_ more appropriate. But still, there was the danger element. Then they _pouted_. He bit his lip. "Okay, fine. Let them sign a waiver concerning their health."

"Thank you!" Evan and Ethan crushed him into a huge twin hug, squeezing the breath out of him and they ran off to the direction of the Quidditch pitch.

Derek threw his attention back to the booths, repeating to himself that he wouldn't regret anything after that. He also hoped that he wasn't going to regret the next thing he was about to do. He approached the booth that said "Taste Sensations!" and his face crumpled to an expression of distrust. The two Ravenclaws heading this booth weren't Nightingales but promised to give _70%_ of the money to the choir. They also promised that their new sweets were completely safe. "Drew, Satoru." He said, nodding. "Before you open for business, I'd like to try one of each."

"We told you –"

"Yes, I know you told me they're all safe, Drew." Derek rolled his eyes. "You don't have to get all defensive if they're _really _safe."

Out of nowhere, another body came from behind the boys and he quickly realized it to be one of his friends. "They're safe and _so good_." Sofie moaned as she stuffed another ball of Bubble Chocolate into her mouth.

"Why is she floating?" Derek asked, his head tilting as his friend began rising above their heads. Sofie giggled as she lied down in the empty air like she was lying on her bed, eating another piece of the enchanted chocolate.

"It's…a side effect." Drew admitted, pulling his housemate back down by her ankle. She kept eating them and she protested being brought back down

Satoru immediately turned to Derek. "She's been eating them for a few minutes now so they're not a side effect of just a few grams of it, I swear!"

"In retrospect, it's not a _dangerous_ side effect!" Drew followed.

Derek walked behind the booth and held Sofie down by the shoulders, ignoring the two other Ravenclaws. "Are you okay, Sof?"

"Better than okay!" She laughed. She ate another despite Derek's protests (she gave him the finger after she slapped his hands away from her chocolate). He just left her alone and she began floating off the ground again.

"How long is that going to last?" He asked, glaring at the other two.

"Depends. If she keeps on eating them like that, I'd say a few hours." Satoru said, hiding the rest of the Bubble Chocolate.

"Okay second question –"

"Imagine the shots of the Halloween performances I can get from _this_ angle, oh my _Potter_!"

"– are there any other products with side effects?" Just then a packet of "Self-Blowing Gum" burst, sending multi-coloured chunks all around. Derek's glare bordered on murderous.

"…We can explain."

* * *

><p>Brittany was already in costume for her first performance: a group number with the girls in barely modest dresses. She was the only one in full costume. It looked like something from eighteenth century France, only with a lot more black, a lot more shreds, and a lot more skin. Brittany's was backless with only a strip of fabric holding it up for her. Her hair was up in the messiest possible bun with a ribbon fastened to it. And she had some haunting make-up on, giving out the allusion that she had died horribly by drowning.<p>

She went around helping with the props that needed charms (the straight boys would stare after her because puberty was _very_ good to her chest). Years later and Charms was still her best subject, something she was really proud of. After the charms went up and the music played so they could integrate it with the charms seamlessly, they let the music play a second time so everyone could put on their make-up and costume. She sat at the front row, watching as the effects took their place with the music that came from the bewitched instruments.

Kurt sat beside her halfway through the instrumental set, trousers long and dusky grey with shiny black shoes but his shirt was still the school shirt, missing the Gryffindor tie. "Hey." Brittany mumbled, managing to take her eyes away from the rising platforms.

"Been a long week." He sighed and rested his head on Brittany's shoulder. "Then we're going to Italy for a long _month_."

She affectionately wrapped an arm around Kurt and leaned her head on top of his. "Don't stress out, you'll get wrinkles, you reminded me to tell you that."

Kurt chuckled. "You're right. I just hope we get enough money from tonight and Derek's Valentine's plans to last us until seventh year. We have a _lot_ of costumes to make." Brittany replied with a noncommittal sound and turned her attention to the stage once again. They were silent for a moment as more and more Nightingales who were performing during the first part. They weren't much now, outside, roughly half of the group were in booths, the movie, the Corridor, and, unfortunately, the Quidditch pitch. There were about eleven of them in the whole place, not including their choir director.

"Ten minutes until show time, girls!" Professor Schue announced, clapping his hands to get their attention. "Call the others from outside." The girls nodded.

Kurt spoke again. "Do you know what you're doing after Hogwarts?" He didn't know why he was asking Brittany about this, of all people, but she was also the first person he'd first properly come out to so that had to count for _something_. She wasn't completely dim as everyone made her to be. She wasn't deep and thoughtful but she was still his friend.

"Yeah." She said, sounding so sure, something Kurt envied a little. "I just want to dance, to be honest. Not a lot of wizarding dance schools, I notice." _You don't notice much but hey, who's counting?_ Kurt thought to himself and he chuckled. "Can't wait to do that dance number tonight with a few of the Nightingales!" She quickly remembered adding. "I don't think they had a number with _just_ dancing before! How perfectly brill this that, Kurt?"

Kurt, trying to break free from the tired rut he'd come to know better that week, smiled and sat up. "_Perfectly_ brill." He said, mustering what energy he had.

Just then, the doors to the Great Hall opened slightly and Derek entered with Sofie. "Oh wow! Sofie's floating!" Brittany announced, jumping up, looking upward at their friend who was dragged through the air by some yarn.

"Hello Nightingales!" She took a picture from the air.

* * *

><p><em>This is it Rachel. Performance night! <em>She grinned softly at herself as she began putting the finishing touches of her make-up. Backstage, she was alone except for the occasional Nightingale flitting by to retrieve something forgotten. It was just her, her make-up kit, the mirror in front of her, and the lights that cast a glow on her tanned skin. She could hear the growing crowd outside – they were her audience. The show was starting soon.

She applied lipstick and noticed a bit of fuzz on her top lip which constantly annoyed her. She dusted her face with some more powder and noticed how big her nose was. As she put on the finishing touches of her eyeliner, she couldn't help but wish she had more striking eyes. Finally when she set down the comb, she pushed a few stray strands away from her face and observed the reflection. Pretty but not pretty like the others. This was always the disappointing part for her. She could sing everyone else to the ground but she didn't look like anything special. Plain eyes. Plain hair. Humungous nose. Stubby fingers. Short. After years and years of singing competitions, one would think that Rachel Berry wouldn't let something as tedious as "not pretty enough" get to her. But it did. In those competitions, she learned it was better for her to be alone while preparing for a show. No parents telling their kids that she wasn't competition because she wasn't pretty like they are. No snotty children who'd roll their eyes at her like she bothered even putting on make-up. Just her and her reflection.

Rachel stood up, taking in her overall look. She tried not to dwell in the negative, so she immediately let her eyes dip down to her outfit. A masterpiece of black and red lace that the girls (and Kurt) put together for this occasion. It hugged her body, flattering what little she had. It exposed one of her shoulders and was barely hanging on her bust area. The thin red lace made the dress stay on but from then on it was hard to figure out where the red ended and where the black began. It all blew out into a gorgeous skirt that ended below her thighs. She wanted to stay in that dress forever.

All in all, she was contented of how she looked at that moment.

"Look at that pretty girl!" Rachel turned to the direction of the voice and was met by a flash of light a couple of feet above her. In an instant, all her insecurities seemed to vanish at the sight of her friends.

Reed gasped in front of her and took her hands into his. "Bloody _hell_, Berry! You are stunning!" He was clad in a ripped up tuxedo for the final group performance with the boys. Kurt, on the other hand, had a grey blazer pulled over a violet button-up with a silver bowtie. An outfit worthy of a solo. Derek had plain clothes on. He was too busy to join in the performance though he choreographed half of it.

"Thank you, Reed." Rachel blushed very lightly but her grin went as wide as it could go. Compliments were always welcome. She found them useful in fighting horrible thoughts of how she looked away. She started leaning down to give him a kiss on the cheek but she didn't want to ruin her lipstick.

"Twirl for us." Reed prompted and she obliged. Sofie took another picture. Brittany began clapping excitedly, so excitedly in fact that the others began to worry if the dress she was wearing was going to _stay_ on her. Except Sofie, she was still in her Bubble Chocolate and hoped the dress would fall because that would be a _laugh_.

"This calls for a group photo!" Sofie announced, dragging the final 'o' as she took out her wand. "Pull me down, oh darling Derek." He shot her an amused smile and began pulling her down by the ankle. Meanwhile, she muttered a couple of spells so the camera would hover a short distance away from them. Kurt checked the frame, peeking into the hole, and adjusted the camera's angle so all of them would fit.

"We fit!" Kurt said to Sofie, giving her the thumbs up. He heard a click.

"Don't just stand there!" Derek laughed and Kurt scrambled to get into the shot before the shutter clicked. He found a way to the centre, between Rachel and Brittany. Reed stood by Rachel, admiring the fabric one last time before smiling at the camera. Derek pulled Sofie down, worried she wouldn't be seen when she began floating to the right side. She muttered her thanks and they smiled right as the picture was taken.

"Photo op? Count me in!" Mercedes said behind the camera. "I want a picture of me and my duet partner." They matched, Rachel and her, naturally. The same black and red lace. Same toned down hair. But Mercedes' dress brushed the floor, ending with red lace, and she didn't have any straps on her. Her curves accentuated by the fabric.

"Mercedes you look hot!" Sofie commented as she got her camera back into her hands.

"Why thank you, Sofia." Mercedes bowed her head slightly.

"Shoo! Shoo!" Rachel giggled, nudging her friends away gently. "It's just the two of us for this shot!" Mercedes came to her side.

"Better make it quick, ladies." Derek noted. "The Nightingales and Professor Schue would be here any minute to do one of those show circles and I still have to tie Sofie to some chair."

"Put her beside Shane." Kurt suggested, grinning. "I'm pretty sure he had just as much Bubble Chocolate as she did." After a series of shots that ended with a couple of Nightingales jumping into the picture, which caused the others to join in, Derek began pulling Sofie back to the audience. The crowd's noise grew as more and more people began rushing through the doors and fighting for seats. In the Hall, three other students were floating in the air – one was still eating a few more pieces of that annoying chocolate. Drew and Satoru _promised_ that they'd regulate people's intake. He rolled his eyes and found Julian poking Shane with his wand making him giggle

"God, I'm _this_ bored." Julian muttered and he caught sight of Sofie floating beside Shane. She took a picture of each boy.

"Where's Seigerson?" Derek asked as he tied Sofie down to one of the chairs.

"Off snogging or shagging some girl." The other boyreplied flippantly. "And I sure as _hell_ wasn't going to join those twins' madness – not tonight anyway. So why not settle for this one? I had fun last year anyway." He grinned and Derek found him quite attractive right then and there. He blushed and finished the knot he was doing. Julian went back to poking Shane, who kept telling him, half-heartedly with giggles, to "stop it". "When's the show going to start?"

"In a couple of minutes, I promise." Derek stood up straight and looked up at his floating friend. "You okay up there?"

"Yes!" She grinned and took his picture. "Go off and have fun with the other birdies, I'll take pictures!" She flapped her hand and Derek laughed, walking away soon after. Sofie looked at Shane with eyes that would probably send a normal person to a mental institution. "Got any more Bubble Chocolate on you?"

Shane groaned. "_No_. And Julian won't get me any!"

"Julian, you whore!" Sofie shouted. The boy just rolled his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I know right?!" Shane agreed. "You're a whore!" And Julian thought: _why won't the goddamned show just start already before I hex these two? _

* * *

><p>Brittany waited behind the curtain, on top of an old, long, wooden table prop, the girls ready for their first performance. Professor Schue was still talking to the audience and she ran through the dance moves leisurely in her head, though a few hand and leg movements would find themselves exciting her limbs. She couldn't wait to just jump out there and show the school her stuff. It was her first time performing as one of the leads. Plus, in this dress, she was <em>sure<em> she could score some action with someone tonight.

"Is he _ever_ going to shut up?" Santana complained below the table. "I'm getting a cramp."

"I've got some medicine in my bag."

"Not that kind of cramps, Brittany."

"He promised it wouldn't take more than five minutes." Tina answered as she rested her head on the far end of the table as Artie continued to massage her shoulder. She seemed to enjoy the fact that their choir director was taking his sweet time talking to the audience.

"He is taking _too long_." Santana's best friend and fellow Quidditch player, Kristianne (nicknamed X), muttered behind the Latina as she adjusted the corset again. She sighed and brushed a bit of her short, black hair away from her face. "Did your boobs grow?" She asked.

Just then, Brittany felt someone pull on her skirt. "Hey, Brit! I'm here to wish you luck." It was Derek, grinning up at his friend. "I won't be around for the first few performances; I have to go check the happenings outside of the Great Hall." He was hoping there weren't any bodies to pick up after because of Drew and Satoru's experimental food and that the Tweedles didn't demolish the Quidditch Pitch.

"It's okay." Brittany giggled, squatting down to kiss Derek's forehead. "But you owe me a dance!" The boy patted her shoulder and swivelled around to leave the stage.

Just in time too. "And _now_, without further ado…"

"Oh _finally_." Santana breathed and the girls giggled around her. Brittany picked up a goblet and stood at the centre of the table. She ran through the first line of the song again so she wouldn't forget like during rehearsals. Artie kissed Tina's temple and sauntered off back with the other Nightingales. The curtain rose and everything went black. In the air hung silent anticipation from the audience as they to see the first performance. As the lights began fading in, giving time for the audience to whoop and call and clap, especially from the boys (boob heaven), Brittany's heart began to pound. She wanted to smile but she was reminded that she wasn't allowed to smile just yet. She needed to be alluring and mysterious; she had plenty of time to smile later. The music started and she did her first move. The beat was steady and gone were the days of counting five, six, seven, eight, it was time for her to just feel it go through her, making her movements look graceful and effortless. The guitar riffs flowed through her, giving her more energy.

She heard the cheers grow louder as the girls began dancing as well, letting a harmony pierce through the music, ending with a resounding "ah!" that was _just_ barely legal by school standards. It was a very energetic dance. The girls looking like a group of eccentric, sexy women getting bored at a party where the drinks tasted like piss and the men weren't good enough for them. Their dance moves gave out frustration, angst, and possible longing (for a few more drinks). They slammed their fists on the table, threw goblets, and stomped on the floor. The others kicked their chairs away and slunk around the table as well as out from under the table. All to the moderate beat of the guitar. Tina and X climbed up the table to join Brittany, putting the leads into one area.

After a quick, deep beat, X and Tina wrapped themselves around Brittany and she began to sing in a sultry voice. "_Listen up I'm gonna tell you a bit about myself…_"

It was an auspicious way to start the evening.

Even a few of the Nightingales couldn't help but peek from backstage. "Brittany's really tearing it down out there!" Blaine commented proudly as he watched. He turned to Kurt who was watching as well. "Isn't she?" He added, glad that she was part of _his _house.

"Yeah." Kurt replied, trying very hard not to look at Blaine right now, focusing on his friend dancing up front, grabbing attention. "She is. It's her first time leading, I'm really happy for her."

"Urgh, I want to stay and watch but I'm singing next." Blaine reluctantly pulled his eyes away from the performance and smacked Kurt's arm in a friendly gesture. "Gotta go. Hey, can't wait for your solo later! You deserved it!" Kurt's face went warm and he clenched his jaw to keep himself from giggling because Blaine Anderson had _just_ complimented and touched him. He knew it was stupid of him to think it but he suddenly felt like he deserved the solo now more than ever.

"I saw that." Mercedes' voice appeared beside Kurt's ear, making him flinch and almost scream. She just laughed. "Boy, you have it _hard_ for him!"

Kurt's blue eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. "Shut up, someone might hear!" He hissed.

"Hear what?" Rachel inquired, coming back from her bathroom break.

"Kurt fancies Blaine." Mercedes sang, earning a glare from him.

"What else is new?" Rachel sounded incredulous, throwing a smirk at her friend, who was just about ready to whip out his wand and hex them both.

"Oh I don't know, how about _you_ fancying _Puck_." Kurt countered and the look on Rachel's face was revenge enough.

"I do not fancy that man!" She said through her teeth, like the very thought caused her pain. "And you don't have any proof, I, however, have best friend privileges to your inner thoughts."

"Ladies, let's not fight." Derek announced, passing by, dragging along the costume rack as he did. "Kurt, you like Blaine, we get it. Rachel, stop teasing Kurt. Do so, and you won't end up seeing the bad end of a horrific Silencing Charm. Got it?"

"Aren't you supposed to be outside checking if everyone's still alive?" Kurt called after the Puff.

"Damn third years can't find their damn costumes!" Derek said sweetly, as though he was plotting their deaths with something unconventional. "Out of my way!" He shouted at some poor innocent walking the backstage. Stress made him very irritable. It was very unbecoming. The sooner he deposited the costumes, the sooner he'd be back in schedule. He arrived at the opposite side of the backstage to a few scared looking third years who were still wearing casual clothes though their make-up was ready. _At least._ Derek thought then sighed, presenting the costumes to them.

"We're really sorry, Derek!"

"We _swear_ it won't happen again."

_It better not_. He wanted to say but thought better of it. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed again. "It's okay. It's just the Halloween performances. No harm done." He smiled a friendly smile and the third years looked visibly relieved. They thanked him and he decided to watch a bit of Brittany's performance with a few other girls, hoping it would relax him. It was at the second chorus and he only had a good view from the back. His friend turned back, walking to the table again and he caught her eye. He gave her a thumbs-up and she grinned. She leaned back on the table on her elbows, facing the audience, throwing her hair back to the music. Derek had to admit, it was pretty hot.

When Brittany did a backflip back onto the table, a resounding cheer came from the crowd, mostly from the boys. Derek could tell Brittany could hear it because she had this look on her face that _screamed_ I-Want-To-Have-Sex. With that thought, he turned around and left the backstage to check on the happenings on the outside world. He walked out the corridor, finding a way to the courtyard where a few people were still running the booths. He'd go to the Tweedles' Quidditch pitch last, wanting to put off seeing any sort of damage they caused. He wrapped a Hufflepuff scarf around his neck, feeling the biting chill of night seeping through. Just then, Drew and Satoru passed by, jogging after a girl who was flying into the sky like a balloon.

Derek groaned. "What part of 'cut them off at five pieces' don't you understand?!"

* * *

><p>Brittany ended the song with a split. The lights went out and the crowd gave the girls another cheer. In the darkness, she felt someone hug her and tell her she was amazing. The table moved to the side, thanks to some charms, and the next person to perform (Blaine) was already waking towards centre stage where a stool appeared with a guitar floating in front of it. "Good luck, Blaine!" She exclaimed above the noise and she saw him grin just as the lights began to shine again.<p>

Backstage, she jumped off the table and hugged Tina and X, squealing and satisfied with the crowds' reaction to their performance. Behind them, she saw Reed waiting. She let go of the two girls and nearly jumped on Reed. "That was brill!" She shouted, laughing. "Being a lead is funner than I thought it would be! You should try it!"

Reed nearly paled. "I-I don't think that'd be wise." The thought of him singing upfront and then falling face first to the stage made him want to hide under a rock.

Brittany laughed again, patting Reed's shoulders. "Of course it is! You have a pretty voice. We should duet! Not do _it_, you know, but duet. Speaking of doing it…" She glanced over Reed's shoulder where a seventh year Nightingale, Vali, was eying her hungrily, then looked away when he saw her catching him. "I'll be right back…" She smiled at the older boy sweetly and he looked like he couldn't believe that she was actually coming towards him.

Reed sighed. "Bring him back before his performance or Kurt will hang you himself." She gave no indication of listening to Reed as she whispered something into the Vali's ear. He smirked and said something back. Afterwards, she dragged him out. Reed's eyes bugged out when he remembered something. He raced after them. "Brittany you still have a dance number in fifteen minutes! Be back for that!"

She smiled over her shoulder. "I'll remember."

"I hope so." Reed mumbled to himself when they disappeared in the corridor.

"She works fast." Tina snorted while Artie came behind her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Reed nodded then shrugged. "That's Brittany for you."

"What's it like, having her as a friend?" Artie asked, not sounding rude though it somewhat struck that particular chord.

Reed felt uneasy, struggling to find words that wouldn't sound hurtful and still sounded true. He didn't want anyone to think there's some sort of disapproval. "Well, she's actually pretty fun. A little ditzy but I find it adorable. She's like a younger sister of sorts." The pair nodded in understanding and they deduced Reed wasn't entirely comfortable talking about his friend's sex life so they left. Artie had to get ready for the dance number.

Kurt was going to murder Brittany if she didn't get back in time. He turned to see him staring out of the backstage, completely entranced by the song Blaine was singing outside. He walked over and sat down beside Kurt. "He's positively breath taking." He commented without looking away.

"You _do_ look particularly breathless." Reed nudged his elbow against Kurt's.

"Sometimes I worry if I'm being too obvious." Kurt said, bobbing his head from side to side to the tune of Blaine's song. "Sometimes I worry that he'd never notice me." Reed began opening his mouth in a poor attempt to comfort and give advice but Kurt cut him off. "Well what does it matter anyway?" He chuckled turning to Reed. "He's still with Jude." Involuntarily, Reed's eyes went to the camera floating beside Blaine's head, now realizing where it came from.

"Hey," Reed held Kurt's hand and the boy turned to face him. "You don't really need someone to be happy."

"I know, I know. It's just," he sighed, "I just really like him. I didn't ask for this but it just –" Kurt flailed his hands unable to find the words. Then he froze, realizing that Blaine was making his way backstage. Reed found it insanely amusing to see Kurt like that.

"Woo! What a crowd!" Blaine said, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. The audience was still cheering outside. They could hear a few "Blaine!" shouts from time to time.

"Wouldn't be surprised. You did a pretty good job." Reed smiled, he felt Kurt's hand tighten around his.

"Aw, thanks Reed." He patted the boy's shoulder and walked away.

"You can breathe around him you know."

"Well I just poured my heart out. I'm allowed a few moments of silence."

"Hey!" Rachel sat down on the other side of Kurt. "Watching the performances too? I've decided to come over, since Mercedes got a little on edge once I tried getting her to do five more vocal exercises. I'm pretty sure we're ready but some exercising wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Those few moments of silence are over." Reed said and Kurt chuckled. He turned to Rachel. "So are you going to give a play-by-play critique of every single performance?"

Kurt linked their arms together. "Please, it's our favourite pastime."

Reed laughed. "I'll get some snacks. It's always more fun with snacks."

"Wait," Rachel said, holding onto Reed's arm before he got away, "where's Brittany?"

"With…a guy…" He answered delicately.

Kurt looked down at his watch and then glared at it. "If she isn't here within ten minutes, I am going to burst."

"Kurt, calm down." Reed said. "You know how much this dance number means to her, she'll be back before you know it."

* * *

><p>Casual sex wasn't a big deal to Brittany. It was like a hobby of sorts. Of course, since her friends were letting her get away with these escapades, they continually reminded her of protection (after a painful and somewhat awkward amount of research). They reminded her so much that she started putting condoms into her bras. She sought the pleasure like it was a game. She considered it fun, no distracting emotions, no complications, just fun. She <em>loved<em> it when boys (and sometime during the summer, girls) understood that she wanted nothing more. Sure, a relationship could be fun but in all honesty, she hadn't found the right person yet. She'd know if she did. Vali was nice, he was one of the competition leads, he had pretty eyes, and his fingers were quite talented but she just didn't feel anything particularly special.

Not that Vali seemed to mind.

"_Yes_…" Brittany arched from the desk she was on as Vali rolled his hips into hers slowly but firmly. They were eager, not bothering to take off some of their clothes. Brittany pulled down her dress and just lifted her skirt. Vali's pants pooled around his ankles and he only had an under shirt that was now damp with sweat.

He placed open-mouthed kisses on her neck, her collarbone, and occasionally her breast. He'd always lusted for the pretty Hufflepuff since the beginning of the year (honestly those boobs just came out of nowhere) and now he got his wish. And he was lucky that he was there when Brittany came backstage. She was in total heat during her performance that she just _had_ to use all that pent up sexual energy on _someone_. And Vali was already in the Nightingales so it's not really with a _total_ stranger (unlike a few times during the summer).

"You were so hot back there." He mumbled against Brittany's collarbone, running a thumb over her nipple. She giggled.

"Thanks." She moaned after a particularly hard thrust. She threw her head back into the desk and there was a small, but clear, bumping sound. "Ow."

"You okay?" He chuckled nervously, slowing his pace.

"Yeah. I'm good." Then he went back to his original pace. Their bodies were sweaty even in the cold classroom. Fingers grabbed and grasped, dug and scratched all over every available surface of sensitized skin. Lips touched skin and another's lips. They were both so close (well, Brittany lost count of how many orgasms she had) but the feeling was so good that they were able to withhold it just for a few more extra minutes to draw out the pleasure.

At some point, Brittany found a way to be on top, pinning Vali down on the desk completely. She hitched her skirt higher and started riding him. She pressed her hands on his lean chest and she watched him moan and writhe under her. "Brit…" He gasped, eyes blown out and she grinned. She rolled her hips a few more times, milking him. He shuddered and squeezed her ass appreciatively. Vali sat up, pressing kisses up Brittany's chest, neck, and one last kiss with a nibble on her lower lip in the end. They shared a smile and Brittany pushed herself off of Vali.

"I had fun." She said, getting her dress back together.

"Me too." Vali sat up and made the condom vanish. Then he pulled his pants back up. An amused sound passed his lips as Brittany crawled on the floor, looking for something. He turned his head. "Your knickers are," he picked them up from the seat, "right here." He tossed the pretty pink undies to her and she thanked him.

"You better get out of here before –"

"BRITTANY S. PIERCE, GET YOUR ARSE BACK HERE IN TWO MUNUTES TO GET TO YOUR NEXT NUMBER ON TIME OR I SWEAR TO GOD I AM HEXING YOU TO THE NEXT CENTURY." Kurt's voice reverberated down the corridor and maybe half the school thanks to a Sonorus Charm. Normal people would be scared but Brittany just laughed and kissed Vali on the lips once more.

"See you later!" She trilled before skipping out of the room. She skipped to the backstage entrance were Kurt was standing, tapping his foot. "Hi." She grinned. Kurt just rolled his eyes as he pulled her into the room. "You can't believe how Vali is!"

* * *

><p>"Hey Jeff." Derek said to his fellow Puff and Nightingale as approached the Quidditch pitch. He could barely see anything except for a few people flying here and there and a huge bag of money zipping through the air. The twins whooped somewhere in the darkness. "Any damage?"<p>

"Not much, just brooms." He answered with a friendly grin. "No one fell or anything… Well they did but the Tweedles caught them right in time."

Derek nodded. "Good…Good…" Relief washed over him and he let himself enjoy the spectacle of about a dozen students, boys and girls, flying about and dodging Bludgers. He had to squint a little bit but all in all it looked like they were enjoying themselves. "No Nick? That's a surprise."

"Well contrary to popular belief, we aren't attached at the hip." Jeff smirked.

"Derek!" A blond head swooped down with a familiar Cheshire grin. "I told you we'd have this under control." Evan or Ethan looked smug but he had to hand it to them, everything seemed relatively calm.

"Good job, Tweedle." He ruffled the blond hair and smiled. Ice blue eyes swivelled to Jeff.

"Shouldn't you be at backstage?" He asked.

Jeff looked down at his watch. "It's alright, I still have ten minutes." Derek showed an approving smile; Jeff was the _least_ trouble during the whole ordeal. And the number was going to be spectacular! A boys' number, an antithesis for the girls'. Jeff was one of the leads and Derek had choreographed with them. "I better get going though, seeing as one of our co-captains is here." He chuckled. "I wouldn't want to get into trouble."

"As if you would, you're my favourite." Derek joked, nudging Jeff with his elbow.

"I thought _we _were your favourites!" Ethan protested.

He laughed mockingly. "I never suggested that all my life! Don't worry, you're in the top ten though." Then he winked. Ethan looked somewhat amused.

Then the unspeakable happened. "WATCH OUT!" Someone shouted but it was too late, the Bludger was already throwing Jeff into the ground. Derek's heart practically stopped for a moment. Everyone rushed to the unconscious boy and someone suggested they take him to the hospital wing. Then his brain started working.

"Oh dear God," he ran his fingers through his hair, "oh dear God! He has a song number in _ten fucking minutes_!" He broke into cold sweat and clawed for any ideas to fix this. Judging by the look of Jeff, he was out cold for the rest of the evening and if Madam Pomfrey managed to make him conscious she would most likely insist on keeping him there for the night. He had a number in ten minutes! Then he walked to one tall Tweedle and pulled him down by the shirt. "Bring him to the hospital wing _immediately_ and I swear on all of my books I will _castrate_ you two if I even get a hint that you went at this damned Quidditch game again tonight, understand?" The Tweedle nodded rapidly. "Good." Without another word, Derek knelt down beside Jeff, willing him to wake up. And with a sigh, he started walking back to the castle, mind reeling, searching for an answer.

An answer that seemed uncomfortably obvious.

* * *

><p>"Where is Jeff?!" Kurt was freaking out. The high from his standing ovation was quickly fading away as he went around the backstage. When Nick asked where the other lead was, that was when Kurt went frantic. Nick was <em>never<em> without Jeff (except for when they go back to their respective houses) therefore something was very, _very_ wrong. "Have you seen Jeff?" was on repeat for the last five minutes, five minutes too much for a number that was in two minutes and counting.

"Kurt, Kurt!" Reed called, bumping into someone, then into a wall. "Maybe he's putting on his costume, stop worrying!"

"I'll stop worrying when I see that stupid blond head of his!" His cheeks were red with exertion and his hands were shaking. No mishaps were allowed, not under _his_ watch! He got Brittany back on stage on time and damn it he was going to get Jeff on stage too. "Derek! Oh my God, Derek! Where's Je –"

"Calm down I've got this." The co-captain replied tightly, grabbing a random Nightingale boy with him, walking away.

"There, you see?" Reed finally caught up. "He's got this."

"Yeah?" Kurt said shakily, resisting the urge to pull out his hair. "Then why didn't I see him walking in with one of the important leads of the next number," there was some applause outside as some Nightingales blended into a powerful high note, "that is starting in _a minute_?!" He knew he had to calm down but it's like he forgot how to. Reed prompted him to stand still and breathe and he did. It was getting increasingly hard when the boys were lining up in the backstage, murmuring "where's Jeff?" to each other, glancing towards Kurt. Then, just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, Reed had to leave him to take his place with the other boys, being part of the number as well. He shot Kurt a pleading look. A look that said "please calm down or else you'll kill someone".

Still no Jeff, the music started and the show went on. The upbeat song hadn't really needed Jeff until the chorus and so far, the boys were carrying on well without him. But as the seconds ticked towards the chorus, he noticed that they were looking subtly apprehensive. Unable to communicate with anyone else during the number, Kurt feared that they might end up pushing random people forward to sing the chorus they were all familiar with. He shook and fiddled with his hands, worried. If this wasn't a choreographed number, it'd be easy to find a replacement. But the moves were precise and there was a big gaping hole in the middle where Jeff should be. And Kurt knew that the boys would all move to a position that would put emphasis on the chorus lead that wasn't there.

Kurt closed his eyes ten seconds before the chorus. The audience were already looking perplexed, slowly noticing the missing boy in the middle. He hoped that at least one of the boys would step up and not get shoved up.

Then the chorus part was sung. Kurt's eyes flew open. That was certainly not Jeff. Everyone gathered around the wings and saw another Hufflepuff onstage. Derek had come out just in time for the chorus, shrugging on the purposefully ruined and shredded blazer that Jeff was supposed to wear. The whole costume was far too long for his limbs (he hadn't had time to do a proper shrinking charm). He pushed up the sleeves again and again. He stumbled on the too long pants, moving around as clumsily as Reed did on a good day. The Nightingales on stage stopped dancing for a beat, surprised that one of their captains took it upon himself to replace Jeff. Kurt saw Derek wink at them and they grinned, dancing again. As Derek bounced around the stage, melting into the dance moves seamlessly, the flaws didn't matter anymore. Kurt suddenly began to laugh and clap

Someone bumped into him, sounding breathless. "Is that –"

"Derek?" An identical voice finished. Kurt turned around to find two red faced boys, watching the number "Wow, didn't know he'd find a replacement. We came as soon as we could. We planned to do an intermission number to distract the audience while you two look for another Jeff."

"Or at least until you figure out how to make him walk again in five minutes…"

Kurt's eyes narrowed. "Why do I have a feeling you two are behind Jeff's disappearance?" Ethan and Evan looked at each other and looked back at Kurt then grinned, saying nothing. Their roommate chortled. "Thought so…" He turned his back on them. "I'm going to hurt you two later."

* * *

><p>Derek Breaker was terrified. Do not be fooled by his smile and his surprisingly good knowledge of the choreography and the fact that he casually threw the too-long blazer to the audience, making it look like it was part of the whole act. It took him all he could not to fall down on the floor, crying. He was afraid he was going to miss his queue or even have a misstep or hit Reed on the face the second time. He was afraid he wasn't going to do Jeff's high notes well. It was fun and all during the first time he came on stage but in the middle of the number, he was shaking in his two sizes bigger shoes.<p>

"You can do this co-captain!" Nick whispered, sensing the fear when the song's climax neared.

Derek gulped and belted out a high note which probably be the highest and longest he'd ever pushed his voice to do. The applause was indication enough that he didn't mess it up. He beamed and he felt Reed clap on his back, congratulating him right as they were going into the last chorus. Derek jumped into it, the shaking and apprehension gone with that high note and began to really enjoy the number.

Nick ended the song and the stage went black. They earned their applause and the boys threw themselves on Derek, hugging him appreciatively as they dragged him off the stage. Compliments and comments were thrown at him at every direction and he barely knew who said them anymore.

"I can't believe you did that!"

"That was one _hell_ of a high note!"

"We're sorry we nearly killed Jeff!"

"Yeah but at least you showed them what you were hiding!"

"I never knew your voice could sound that good!"

"You nearly killed _Jeff_?!"

"You. Are. A. Bloody. Lifesaver."

Derek was positively lost in their bodies but it felt good. He couldn't lie to himself that it felt proud, though he felt guilty that he was taking Jeff's glory, after all, it was _his_ solo. He just thanked them and smiled, there was nothing more he could do. And in all honesty, it was a huge confidence boost.

* * *

><p>Rachel had the final slot. The slot that would wrap the whole night into a pretty little bow and send the audience off with awed comments for the night and she was pleased to have gotten it. On the elevated platform and with a single spotlight warming her skin, she felt insanely comfortable, at home even. Everyone would comment time and time again that Rachel Berry was annoying in many, many ways but she could bring the house down with her voice. She was one of the crown jewels of this batch of Nightingales and even the people who disliked her exponentially would grudgingly admit that was true. As she sang, having the stage to herself, all insecurities melted away. She knew she sounded better than amazing. She knew everyone's eyes were on her and all their ears were hanging on every note. It was one of the most rejuvenating performances she'd ever done. A performance that boasted her vocal prowess. A song that was haunting and wavering and perfect for the end of that evening. Her voice with that song brought tears to some people's eyes, sensing the raw emotion Rachel conveyed with her voice. At that point, the old speculation that her biological mother was actually part-siren was brought up again.<p>

Rachel felt empowered and beautiful. It was only in her performances that she could feel a blossoming self-esteem instead of a struggling one. Up there, she was perfect and she actually believed it. There, it wasn't just an act she put up so no one would know how low she felt of herself. It wasn't an act that would help her get ahead, that would help her not let others push her down or trample on her. There, it didn't matter she wasn't as tall as she wanted to be or as pretty as she wanted to be, she was all she _could_ be.

She smiled and closed her eyes, revelling in her applause for a few extra seconds before bowing the last time. Okay, a couple more bows won't hurt. _Oh someone conjured up a bouquet for me, that deserves one last bow._ And before the Nightingales could get aggravated she took a deep breath and announced, "Thank you, thank you. Now I'd like to call on my best friends and co-captains of the Nightingales: Kurt and Derek to the stage!"

Derek and Kurt walked out of the backstage, grinning. "Well what the hell, come out, you lot!" Derek laughed and called for the other Nightingales to come out from the back. They all converged to the front. Brittany's arms went around Rachel's waist and they giggled at a job well done. A few paces from the stage, they could see Sofie waving at them with her camera and they smiled for their friend. She was back on the ground, the effects of the Bubble Chocolate having disappeared. She felt like a parent, taking pictures, feeling proud of her babies performing well. She _was_ a bloody parent and she didn't care at that moment.

"We'd like to thank you all for coming." Kurt started, hushing the crowd. "Thank you for all of the support you've given us and after tonight's turn-out, we'll have enough money to fund us through about – how many years do you think it was, Derek?"

Derek smiled broadly, turning to the audience. "A year and a half!" They all cheered. "That's right, we have enough money for costumes and props and portkeys for the next couple-ish of years. Not only that, we also have plans to do something especially special so something like a random Halloween fundraiser would be a thing of the past."

"We do?" Kurt asked, trying to look perplexed as the rest of the Nightingales in the room. It sounded a little fake but no one cared.

"Why yes, dearest Kurt, we do! We just haven't announced it yet, but you'll all love it, trust me." Derek patted the taller boy's shoulder. "It'll be announced after the holidays! Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you enjoyed tonight and we've been given permission to turn the Great Hall to a Party Hall until the wee hours of night. So…" With a flick of some seventh years' wands, the lights began to blink and music began pounding around them. "Let's not waste this moment!" Students cheered and jumped up from their seats. Some chairs flew to the sides, some disappeared, to clear a space in the middle for everyone to mingle and dance. The Nightingales joined in all the fun on stage.

Sofie came rushing towards her friends, grinning. "This is _wicked_! Think of all the pictures I could take tonight!" She took a picture of them peering down at her. "Well don't just stand there! Dance with me!" They jumped down and did what she told them. They were goofing around, not even bothering to dance properly, though Brittany and Derek _did_ manage to have a showdown when a mutual favoured song came on.

Eventually the night died down and the person in charge of the music – Derek – started playing couple songs even though the songs reminded him of Hayden. It's what the public wanted so he was just giving it to them and besides, he was supposed to be moving on. This was a good way to do so. The lights were a little more subdued like the music and followed around couples on the dance floor. The room seemed a lot emptier now that only a couple dozen filled it.

The six of them hung out on stage, all of them still in costume, though the girls already kicked off their heels. Sofie lied on her back in the middle, watching the lights flicker above her as she talked to Reed about how amazed she was he didn't fall over during the dance number. Derek, whose back was against Reed's, was discussing his Valentine's idea with Kurt again. And Brittany and Rachel swapped compliments to each other's respective numbers. Then the conversation grew from there. From the mishap with Jeff to the comments Sofie had for the show (generally positive), they just didn't seem to be able to run out of any conversation topics until Professor Schue came and told them they had twenty minutes to vacate to their respective houses. So the six of them, as well as a few Nightingales, went backstage to pack up.

"I _really_ don't want to take off this dress." Rachel sighed, reaching behind her to unzip it, the boys not minding at all. Besides, she had Sofie holding up a towel to cover her. "I want to wear it to bed."

"You could if you want to." Brittany said, putting on her bra, not even bothering to hide behind Rachel.

"Just keep it, Rach. I might ask you to do a photoshoot for me in that dress." Sofie said, grinning.

"Ooh my first photoshoot." Rachel giggled and pulled a jumper over her head. Sofie dropped the towel and the singer pulled her jumper down fast. "Sofia!" Brittany blinked then realized that she was just in her underwear, pulling her shirt against her chest, not that it would really cover anything… Not that she was particularly _trying_ to cover anything up.

"Get a hold of yourself, none of us want your goods." Kurt yawned, lacing up his shoes. He glanced at Reed, who was about as red as his hair and turning his attention away from Rachel and Brittany. Kurt shrugged to himself. He (they all were) was still on the fence with him but he'd never given any indication where he swung. He thought that maybe Reed didn't reach that level of puberty yet. He sure didn't look like it.

"Gay boy has a point." Sofie agreed and threw the towel to the side. "Just put on the skirt and we can just go."

Brittany looked down at herself. "Does this mean I can –"

"Wear clothes, Brittany." Her friends trilled in almost-unison and she nodded, picking up some clothes, then trying to remember which one's the front part and which one's the back part.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" Sofie asked, sitting down beside Kurt.

"Definitely! It's my first competition outside the school." Derek answered. "And if I do say so myself, I'm excited to kick all of their foreign asses down to the ground and mop the floor with them."

Reed held onto Derek's shoulder. "You're sounding way too much like Rachel."

"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Rachel accused, though she still smiled while she put her things into a bag.

"It is." Kurt retorted with a smirk. "But it's true; we've got a good set this year. Let's just hope the other schools don't have better ones."

"Oh I wish I could come." Sofie sighed, tucking her legs under her. "But alas, my voice isn't compatible for singing and my legs are unable to move properly."

"We'll write to you." Rachel said, hefting her bags up. "We'll probably just make it a long one after a couple of weeks, yeah? That way, we won't exhaust the poor, poor owls."

"Likewise." Sofie responded. "I mean with the way the school is now, you'd probably be just _dying_ to know what's going on! If Professor McGonagall showed emotion five times a day or if Filch screamed at a student. How would you survive without that information?!"

They laughed. "We'll send you a play-by-play of our time at Cross, don't worry." Derek acknowledged as he repacked Brittany's things into the bag so it would _actually_ fit this time. Then he remembered who was also going to be there tomorrow. The same time, Sofie noticed how his face dropped and she remembered as well.

A silence fell and Reed was the first to speak up, addressing Sofie. "So… Have you heard from Elias lately?" In Derek's head, he bitterly commented how at least _she _heard from Elias. Hayden, however, had basically just disappeared since last year.

"Um, yeah." Sofie shifted self-consciously. "He's really excited to sing this year. He's got a solo and all – not that you heard it from me." A few scattered laughs flittered into the silence. "It's his last year so he hopes they'll do well." She nodded, not wanting to reiterate the sentences that made her heart go "weeee" to her friends at the moment. "Can't wait to see the Nightingales again, all that." She still fancied him a bit but the thing about mutual fancy is that it is expected of them to be in a relationship. But Sofie wasn't that kind of girl. She didn't like commitment, she didn't like being so helplessly in love. She couldn't envision herself being _someone's_. A lover. A _girlfriend_. Honestly, she wasn't one of those touchy feely types except with her friends and intimacy was a frightening subject she didn't want to broach in real life. She'd explained that to her friends and though they still held a few questions, they let it go.

It's just how Sofie operates.

They didn't bother talking about Hayden. So they shifted the subject as they walked out of the Hall. And just when they thought they could get over problems concerning the inner workings of people's feelings, someone came walking alongside.

"What do you want, Noah?" Rachel groaned, shrugging off the heavy arm he draped on her shoulder. She looked to her friends pleadingly but all they did was giggled at each other and walked a tiny bit faster than she did. _Thanks a lot, guys, appreciate it! _She knew she'd do the same thing if Blaine ambushed them and started talking to Kurt. But this was different; she didn't _like_ Puck whereas Kurt is totally in love with Blaine. This was evil and they knew it.

"I just wanted to tell you how hot you were tonight." Puck replied, trying to wrap an arm around her, to which she swatted every attempt off, thereby making him want it more. "Aw, c'mon you know you can't resist me."

"Oh I've been resisting you for years." She smiled at him sweetly. This shouldn't be happening to her but her friends decided it to be fun to betray her tonight. Sofie must've seen her face because she started to giggle up front. "You can plainly see that I _can_ in fact resist you."

He smirked, undeterred. "How about you and me go out tonight before you leave for that Italian school? I'll show you a good time, I guarantee it."

"The answer is still no, Noah." Oh how his lips watered when she said his first name. Not that she knew she had _that_ kind of effect on him. "I will not be one of your trophies; I'm not that easy, you should know that by now." She started walking faster, thinking that this was like one of the other times, she drops a big NO and he says something annoying and she walks away faster. Since he didn't say anything yet, she decided to walk faster anyway.

He caught up, surprising her this time. "I'm up for the challenge. C'mon, one night, Berry! I swear I'll blow your mind."

"Again," she turned to him, looking straight into bloody gorgeous eyes of his (first mistake and she couldn't look away, she'll look weak), "_not that kind of girl_. You want me? Impress me. I need a male lead who can keep up with me in more ways than vocally. Though," she turned away, making it seem like an afterthought though in reality she just couldn't stand looking into his eyes anymore, "you could start with the vocal thing. Take your time, no rush, I don't think you could match up to me anyway."

Puck glared. "You think I can't sing, don't you?"

Rachel shrugged. "I suppose you can, but I think you can't keep up with me. Goodbye, Noah." It was her turn to smirk as she began to walk to her friends. Puck groaned and strangled the air Rachel left behind before walking away, muttering about how he was a _spectacular_ singer.

When Rachel reached the group, she hit the nearest friend, Derek, on the back of his head. Then the others in quick succession. "I swear vengeance." They all laughed.

"I've got hand it to you." Reed said as they neared the stairs to the towers. "You drive a hard bargain. He'd probably leave you alone after that little display."

"Why _thank you_, Reed."

* * *

><p>It was a cold morning. It was going to rain at any moment and students rushed around the courtyard, saying goodbye and hugging their friends as fast as they could so they could go back into the warmth of the castle before it started pouring. Three portkeys stood waiting until their departure in five minutes. A few Nightingales were already sitting beside the weathered book, a medium-sized, raggedy carpet, or the mangled hat, chatting enthusiastically for the upcoming competition. Minor baggage was deposited to a bag with an Undetectable Extension Charm which Professor Schue was holding.<p>

Sofie was hugging all of them goodbye. "You take care. No flirting unless you're willing to tell me everything. Use condoms," she shot Brittany a pointed look though she was asking someone to help her tie her ponytail properly again. "Don't forget to write a long letter, detailing your trip. Tell me everything about Elias and don't give me that look Kurt, fuck you. Also, bring me a souvenir! Anything would be nice! Win this so we can have another day off school!" She pulled them down into a hug again, this time Reed slipped and fell to the ground. At least he didn't start bleeding. "And _do_ bring Reed back in one piece." She grinned as they picked him up.

"Will do." Rachel said and looked down at her watch. "We better go get a spot; I don't want to be at the back again, it makes me all queasy."

"Yeah, and I'd like to have Reed beside me this first time because he'll probably fall off and end up in the Atlantic Ocean if we're not careful." Derek added, holding Reed's hand. Reed rolled his eyes. "Bye, Sof… Again." He chuckled.

Just as they were turning away, Sofie followed up with another statement. "Oh and if you see Hayden, don't forget to hit him for me."

Derek turned red. "There will be no hitting, yeah?" He demanded tightly. "It's been a year, I'm over it," he wasn't, "and I don't want anything to get complicated." He dragged Reed off to one of the portkeys. Reed couldn't protest with Derek's vicelike grip on his hand.

His friends smiled fondly. "But seriously," Sofie muttered, "if Hayden tries anything funny…"

"We turn him into a pig and make bacon, I understand." Kurt nodded.

"Bacon?" Brittany asked brightly. Rachel shook her head and led her to the direction Derek went. Kurt and Sofie smiled at each other. The girl reached up to ruffle Kurt's hair and the boy adjusted Sofie's Ravenclaw tie. With that, he left. They found a spot around the mangled hat and when Professor Schue told them to get ready and hold on. Derek held Reed's hand tighter as they grabbed the edge of the hat. Brittany had to be pulled down by Rachel and Kurt so she could pinch it just in time for the magic to take place. They winked out of existence for the rest of the students and it began to rain. Everyone ran back inside. For the Nightingales, the ground disappeared under them and it felt like they were being whirled around by some giant. Some closed their eyes; some watched the swirling array of colours. Some screamed, some twisted their faces, like they were going to get sick if they opened their mouth. Then they hit the ground, the hat fluttered in the mild breeze only to be flattened by a falling Nightingale.

Reed held onto Kurt, breathing hard. Brittany was already standing up and helping Rachel to her feet. Derek was still lying on the ground. He groaned and rolled over only to meet a pair of golden heels belonging to the new Crescendo captain. "_Benvenuto_! Welcome, to Cross School of Magic!" The girl in the heels announced and Derek looked up.

The castle itself wasn't as big as Hogwarts but it was shinier than Hogwarts and so much _taller_ than Hogwarts, that's for sure. He knew, though he wasn't entirely certain, that if the Cross founder found a way to make the whole school out of gold, he or she would. But the founder decided on golden accents, from the doors, the window frames, the flagpoles, some of the roofs, and the gate right in front of them. A few curious students were peering from the gates, looking equally resplendent in their golden uniforms. Derek felt self-conscious and pushed himself off the ground. "I am _so_ glad you could finally join us, Nightingales." A man with slicked black hair and shimmering gold robes came forward – Signor Pietro. "Now that we're complete, please follow us to the choir room."

"We're last to arrive." Rachel commented doing a turn before they began to walk. To prove her point, the Beauxbatons Sirens, Durmstrang Exodus, and the Cavvan Sound Blast were already at the courtyard when they entered. From a distance, friends were already waving to each other. They saw Sophie and Karina jumping up and down, waving their arms.

Then Derek saw Hayden talking to Elias. He saw Hayden wrapping his arm around a caramel haired boy beside him and the boy snuggled. Elias saw them first, grinning and waving. Derek looked away just in time for Hayden to look back. He was just expecting Hayden not Hayden with _boy_. He wanted to vomit.

Rachel squeezed Derek's hand. "Don't let it affect you."

"Easier said than done." He muttered back. He raised his head and met those pale green eyes again. A wave of resentment and bitterness and sadness washed over him and he averted his eyes. This wasn't the time for a scene. It's been a year, he could stomach this. Hayden didn't matter anymore, Hayden _shouldn't_ matter. And with that thought in mind, Derek did his best to not think about Hayden. He looked down at Rachel and she smiled. With a deep breath, he soldiered on.

* * *

><p><em>Dearest Matey-Mates, <em>

_It's been week two of your absence and I am doing fine. Who'd've thought I actually HAD friends apart from YOU? Just kidding. No not really. I think two weeks is an appropriate time for me to send the letter, it'll arrive on time and I expect your reply to come in a week because any longer than that I'd think our friendship to be over. Anyway, what's it like at Cross? Never been to Italy, they say it's nice. The place is crawling with pizza. Or maybe that's just a horrendous stereotype. _

_Class has been brutal as always. I hope you're having easier classes there. And if you do, please don't tell me, I resent you enough as it is. Honestly, you'd think being a Ravenclaw would make things easier, apparently not. _

_I've been hanging out with Quinn a lot (and having a prefect cousin has its perks, not that Logan – oh so gorgeous but gay Logan – enjoys that we're breaking the rules like that. Quinn told him to go fuck himself). You would not believe how she and Jesse have it in for each other. She keeps telling me she hates his guts and that he was a sham of a Seeker but I know, I KNOW, deep down she wants to jump his bones (I would). You should see them going at it. One time we were in the corridors while Quinn was helping me (cheat) for Transfiguration and Jesse walks by and he's like "Time to dye the roots, Fabray." And Quinn, I swear QUINN, was going to pull out her wand and turn his hair blond. But she didn't, she only said "bugger off St. James, go bother some other people since it's the only thing you're good at in this miserable life of yours." His friends went "ooooooooooo" and one of them was kinda cute, I think he's a Slytherin chaser of some sort I don't know. Name starts with a P. Their verbal banter will be the death of me, they so fancy each other. _

_She denies it fervently, telling me Jesse is an annoying prick who exaggerates his pureblood and Seeker status and that when he's not practicing he's horrible to other people. Lords over them and such. But I don't know, I notice Jesse being nice. He's nice to Rachel. And to tell you the truth, I think Jesse's TRYING to change (two week observation with Alice and Regine). _

_Why am I telling you this? Because there is absolutely nothing else happening in this school. I could list down all the boys I found cute recently, though that would take too long. Have you ever gotten pass Sam Evans' lips and see that he's actually kind of cute? I have. When he took off his shirt after running across the courtyard from the greenhouses. Talk about working out. My Lovegood. I wish I snatched a picture. (I think Jude did though, don't tell Blaine. Actually, Kurt, tell Blaine.) _

_What's the weather like there? What does the water taste like (and don't give me shit about water doesn't taste like anything THERE IS A DIFFERENCE)? Are the people beautiful? How many people did Kurt turn down already? How's Brittany? Brittany you promise me you stop at ten boys! PROMISE. _

_And how is Elias if you don't mind me asking. _

_And has Hayden tried anything suspicious?_

_There is honestly nothing more to ask or say but I'm just writing because I don't want to do my Potions essay. It is such a DRAG. I like Professor Slughorn and all (even though he hadn't invited me to his tiny tiny club YET I MEAN IS IT BECAUSE I AM NOT A NIGHTINGALE IS THAT IT?) but this essay doesn't want to write itself and I want it to. I actually have to go to the library and it's not as fun without you guys. (AWWW FRIENDSHIP!) I mean Derek reading something else. Rachel humming under her breath because the librarian banned her from actually opening her mouth in the library ever again. Brittany balancing books on her head. And Kurt and Reed helping me with my work. We have a system and I am lost without that system. _

_I've got news actually! I just remembered. Julian got a letter this morning that he's been accepted for a role in some TV show. Doctor What it was called… I think. Or was it Doctor How? I forgot. I'm sure some of you know it. Anyway, he's got like three episodes on the show and he'd be filming during the summer and during winter. His mum came around and got him permission to leave school early, like a couple of weeks before the holiday break so he could get his scenes in or something. Really lucky fellow! I heard from Shane that Julian's planning on following his mum's footsteps after 7__th__ year, though he thinks he might be leaving Hogwarts a few weeks at a time for filming. He just has to pull his grades up more and I heard, again from the roommate (he just never shuts up), that Julian has to get a lot of O's for his O.W.L.s. He seems fine with it. Smart bastard. _

_Derek S. and Logan aren't too keen about it, Quinn told me, but they're happy for him nonetheless (and after that there's another incident with Jesse where I SWEAR they were about to kiss since they were so up in each other's faces. Who knew Quidditch could be so sexy OUTSIDE the pitch?). If they do end up together, I'm pointing at Quinn and telling her I TOLD YOU SO. _

_I still don't want to do my homework I am currently looking for a story to tell you. Why didn't I make a list? It would've made things easier…_

_I saw Lord Tubbington, Alec, and Ellyse once while I was walking to Charms. They were on a tree, meowing at each other. And then Erik swooped in and hooted at first to them then to me. It was the freakiest thing ever. When Erik hooted at me, the cats turned to look at me in unison. I snapped a picture. They blinked lazily and turned back to whatever kitty/owl conversation they were having. I notice how Erik was perched farthest from Lord Tubbington. I fear they're having a fight because they can never be together because Owl and Cat. _

_WOW I need to go to sleep. _

_But Potions._

_Fuck it I'll do it tomorrow. This is so unRavenclaw of me but who cares? BREAK THE STEREOTYPE!_

_XOXO,_

_Sofie_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sofie,<em>

_There'd been a heated debate as to WHO was going to write back to you, hence the slight delay but I won, obviously. Reed and Brittany showed little resistance while Rachel and Derek remain adamant that they should be writing. Like I said, I'll be the only one who'll make proper sense out of all of them since you and Derek share the same line of thought (which is to say NO line of thought – Derek just laughed) and Rachel would probably talk about the competition extensively with profiles of the choir captains for, I think, three rolls of parchment. I'll try my best to get everyone's thoughts into place. We'll answer your questions and we'll move on from there._

_Cross is beautiful to say the least. It's practically gold plated and we think that the teachers' robes are ACTUALLY gold plated in some places. It's somewhere around Venice, if Rachel and Reed's guesses are correct. It's on some sort of invisible-to-Muggles island a mile away from the actual city. I admire the charmwork. The castle itself isn't big on land space but it spirals up and up and up into the clouds and let me tell you the ride up and down isn't exactly a walk in the park (Brittany and Derek keep telling me to tell you that it is actually fun – not with my hair it isn't). All in all, its complicated architecture is mind-boggling. They've also got four dormitories. That's where the familiarity ends, the house names are of magical animals – Gorgon, Centaur, Veela, and Unicorn (in Italian of course but I couldn't be bothered to write them down). The prefects choose from the first years who gets into what house._

_Like us, they have weekend trips to the town, both the Muggle half and the magical half, whichever they prefer. Though access to the Muggle half is only allowed to fifth years and above. You would probably enjoy the havoc the Tweedles wreaked on that side of town. Also, no, it's not really CRAWLING with pizza but there's a handful of pizza stands in both sides. _

_Derek and Brittany noticed Sam's attractiveness, I've leaned into it a bit though not a lot. _

_KURT'S GOT ANOTHER HUFFLEPUFF ON HIS MIND._

_Damn I can't erase that. Reed apparently taught Derek a spell. Rachel could undo it but she says this is revenge for leaving her with Puck. That was a long time ago!_

_SHUT UP KU _

_I got a counter-curse around the parchment, anyway, where was I? (I'm ignoring that picture part, Salvadair.) _

_The weather's pleasant so far. We've had a lot of sunsets before and/or after practice courtesy of a couple of Cross friends we've made over dinner the first day. _

_I fought back Derek and Rachel, they tried to ambush me. They're no match for my shield charms. Sorry about the ink splotch. _

_Derek says the water tastes a little like cheese. I kid you not, he's very serious. _

_Yes the people are beautiful. I've turned down three boys and a girl. They're just not my type. The others are laughing on the floor. Good, that means fewer distractions. Brittany's been good, actually. She's only been around with five blokes and the rest of the time she's at practice. Bless her. And she promises… I hope she's not choking on her saliva. _

_Let's see, Elias. He's been the same as always (Sophie and Karina say hi by the way). Charming, friendly, talkative. He's only grown a couple of inches and he cut his hair short but other than that he's the same Elias from last year. He told me to tell you to write faster (and he said this in the nicest way, he even chuckled at the end) because he gets restless waiting for your replies. He'd wished you joined the Nightingales but he just shrugged afterwards. And I know what you're thinking – no he hasn't got a girlfriend. _

_Hayden. I'd like for Derek to write this but I think I wouldn't gain control over the rest of the letter if I let him touch it. So, bear with my outside party opinion. We haven't really talked to Hayden much and that's a good thing because I usually have the sudden urge to hit him with a spell whenever I see him. All of us do. Except Derek who just wants us to leave Hayden alone. There was this one time though…. They bumped into each other after breakfast. Hayden's got a new boyfriend named Fabian. And though Derek doesn't say it, he's jealous. _

_No Derek I won't erase that. _

_(Sorry again for the scratches)_

_It's true though! He mentioned something about wishing Fabian had a dumber name so he could hate him more. _

_Back to the story: They were alright, saying hi and whatnot. We passed the couple, not paying attention. Reed pulled Derek away and then we interrogated him for his feelings (which is where I got the "dumber name" part). But other than second hand information from Sophie and Karina, we haven't really interacted with Hayden. _

_Derek's fine. He tried his best not to let his presence get the best of him. _

_I guess that's all of the questions we've gotten._

_We miss you too, Sofie! You would've loved it here if you get past your heart attack or aneurysm because I'm POSITIVE the moment I stepped in the castle, there were about wall to wall Cross boys who were about your type. I don't think you would've made it past the first day. Not only that, I think you'd love the scenery, especially on the higher floors. You could see the whole of Venice and I'm sure you'd use up all of your film just taking pictures of the twinkling lights of the city. I almost forgot! The cottage we're staying at is by the beach, very much like in Beauxbatons only closer to the water. The evening and early morning breeze is simply rejuvenating. _

_Brittany and Derek freaked when they saw Julian being cast into Doctor WHO (that's the title apparently). To put it in words CONGRATULATIONS JULIAN WE HOPE YOU DO WELL AND SAY HI TO DAVID TENNANT ASK HIM FOR HIS AUTOGRAPH AND WE LOVE YOU. And now they're asking me to ask you to tell Julian that. Good luck. As for me, first of all, I can't believe he's leaving me with the three crazies for extended periods of time. But I hope he does well and all that. I'm sure he'll be a superb actor just like his mum. I'm glad I won't be there to see that smug look on his face for when you tell him THAT. (I'm pretty sure he'll give me that look when I get back. I'm counting on the fact that he might forget.) _

_The choir competition practice had been a little brutal the first week but it seems to have died down a little bit now. Rachel tried to spy on the other choirs but she only achieved being nearly hexed into a toad. (A passer-by wasn't as lucky.) We've got a strong set though, as we've mentioned before time and time again, but we fear that after two consecutive years of coming on top, the other schools are upping their ante. Rachel is a good pep talker for this one. She keeps on telling the others to do their best and not to let the other choirs intimidate them no matter how loud and intimidating their closed practices seems. THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT, she said, DON'T LET THEM CRUSH OUR SPIRIT LEST WE LET THEM CRUSH US UNDER THEIR BEAUTIFUL SHOES._ _Total morale boost. Santana threw a goblet at her. _

_I think it would've gone worse if Rachel was a lead. _

_We'll see you in short while, Sofie! When you get this letter it'll be around a week until we get there. Fingers crossed we'll win so you'll get that wish of yours. _

_(We're very confident of winning though, unless one of the choirs blindside us with a spectacular number. Rachel just hit me for being pessimistic – I deserved that one.) _

_Love,_

_Kurt, Reed, Derek, Brittany, and Rachel_

* * *

><p>A deep silence ensued in the choir room back in Hogwarts as the Nightingales stared at their trophy. "Honestly, it's not that bad…" Derek commented, some agreed.<p>

"Easy for you to say." Rachel muttered, her head in her hands. "Second place is embarrassing. They don't even say our names, they just say the winner's and they dump the trophy on us as the winner jumps around happy. It is _that_ bad." They all went back to their silence. They threw Professor Schue out so they could have their moment. They wouldn't exactly call it mourning, after all, it's still second place. But somehow the fact that their two year winning streak didn't turn into a third really got them down. Deep down, they knew they weren't getting the first place but they still _hoped_. Durmstrang had an incredible set that year. They practically mopped the floor with the rest of the choirs. (Rachel didn't want to voice out her thoughts if she was a lead.)

Kurt stood up slowly and took the trophy into his arms. He's had enough moping over something petty. "There's no use to us crying over it. Let's be grateful we didn't come out last." He stomped to the side and placed the trophy in a corner. He turned around and sighed.

"This wouldn't've happened if we didn't have that damned fundraiser." Santana growled, running her fingers through her hair. "My solo was _bloody breath taking_!" She proceeded to kick a chair as the rest of the Nightingales began talking about how the fundraiser ruined their lives.

"Nightingales!" Derek snapped, shocking the Nightingales to another moment of silence. Santana huffed and crossed her arms, apologizing. Shit got real when the Hufflepuff captain's temper became apparent. They all knew as much during Halloween. He rubbed his forehead. "Can you all please sit down?" They all shuffled into their seats. Kurt stood beside him and offered him a small, calming smile. They couldn't afford any dissention at that moment. A little disagreement or resentment can go a long way. Derek understood that and his temper went down a notch.

"Derek, may I?" Kurt asked him and Derek nodded. "I'm as disappointed as all of you." He stepped forward. "But Durmstrang was better than us, we know it. We knew they had that trophy the moment they stepped on stage with that first number." There were mutters of assent and begrudging nods as Kurt paused. He was right, though they hated that, he was right. "But we can't be like this. We need to take second place into stride, to be _happy_ we even got into the top three because the other schools were just as amazing. Just because we won the last two years, doesn't mean we're guaranteed a third. Don't go blaming anyone. Don't go beating yourself up. We'll just have to work harder next year, yeah?" Again – correct. The fact that they took second place so badly wasn't likeable behaviour. Some of them were bullies, true, but moping for a second place win is a whole new low. "And, as Derek said before, he's got a plan where we wouldn't have to do another Halloween fundraiser again. Derek?"

"Valentine's Serenades." He started, earning the choir's full attention. "It's a very simple concept. Since choir season is over during the second half of the year, I think it's a great time to do some work getting some funds. No rehearsals, no hassles. People come to us, ask us to sing a song for someone they like, someone they're dating, pay us a galleon, extra for special requests. And if they want it to be anonymous we are going to _keep it anonymous_. Any one of us can sing any love song they want. This will happen during Valentine's week and we go around and accept requests that whole week. Kurt and I will see to the different requests. Any comments, objections?" He smiled when all he heard was the voice of the Nightingales, talking excitedly about Valentine's. "Alrighty."

After briefly discussing the Christmas number they're going to do before leaving school, choir was dismissed and they left a very confused and slightly disgruntled Professor Schue. Sofie and other non-Nightingale friends were waiting outside – waiting to comfort, bitch about the second place win, or _something_ with their friends who were gone for the last month.

"Shall I throw you an 'at least you won second place that counts for something' party?" Sofie asked when she spotted her friends. Then she took their picture.

"You thought up that sentence while we were in there, didn't you?" Kurt smiled weakly.

"No, I'm smarter than you think I am." She flipped her hair and grinned before throwing her arms around Rachel and Derek. "C'mon, the Room's waiting for us to talk it to death."

* * *

><p>With the pressure of choir practice lifted from their shoulders, they could breathe a little easier (though some of them had their choir practice replaced with Quidditch). It always seemed to so different once you subtract the choir from them. And now that they only met once a week to prepare for the Christmas number, the schedule just felt empty. But that was soon fixed by their O.W.L. classes. The classes were getting more ruthless every week and before long the fifth years were counting down for their holiday break.<p>

All except Reed, who, at his mother's request, was spending his holidays away from school and by extension Derek. It would mark the first time in _years_ they wouldn't see each other for the whole holiday. The Van Kamps were attending a fashion week somewhere overseas and Reed was expected to learn a few of the ropes of the fashion industry during that time as his mother, knowing fully well that careers were usually chosen at the fifth year, thought it time for her to groom her rightful heir. The Van Kamp name is already spread across Europe, both to the magical community as well as the Muggle one. And, come spring, Hilde's new magazine was due to publish. (Derek's mother was already preparing the stands at Breaking Bookstore.) She was ready to take the world by storm, Reed was not.

Reed didn't want to tell his friends about any of this – how he felt lost even when the road was paved in front of him, how his mother expected him to be like her, how he felt irritated with himself when he couldn't stand up to her, when he couldn't be a good enough artist or designer for her. He didn't want to tell how low he felt sometimes even after considering the Derek situation last year.

_They already have O.W.L.'s to worry about,_ he would tell himself. _It's just a small blip, I can handle this. She's my mum, I can handle this._

But for how long?

His thoughts came to centre on this just before Professor Sylvester unleashed a surprise attack on her students in the middle of her excessively detailed lessons of self-defence. The last thing he remembered was Brittany screaming his name just as a table flew towards him. Everything went black for what seemed to be a moment. It did, however, make him forget about his problems so that was a plus.

He gasped and a hand pressed down on his chest. "Hey, lie down. We don't want you injuring yourself more." One of his roommates, Todd, smiled down at him. He lied back down, staring at the hospital wing's ceiling.

"What –?" He muttered, his hand flying up to his head where he felt a dull ache.

"You almost got hit by a flying desk but then luckily Derek managed to deflect it but then unfortunately he managed to deflect you off your feet and onto the floor, where you immediately passed out." Todd answered concisely. "And if you're wondering, yes that was a quiz, yes half of the class failed, no, she's not getting sacked because she had permission to give us hands-on training."

"Thanks."

"Reed! You're awake!" Derek's voice trilled through the wing and he earned a hush from Madam Pomfrey. Reed turned his head just enough to see Derek hobbling towards him. "Hey, sorry I wasn't here! I needed to pee."

Reed chuckled. "S'alright, it's not like I was in a coma for weeks."

"You were." Derek deadpanned, sitting beside Todd and taking Reed's hand into his. "We've been so worried sick about you; we thought you wouldn't make it. We've been waiting day in and day out for you to wake up. Your mum cried herself dry last night we had to force her to drink some water." Then he started sobbing. "Even your step-brother Clark came and held your hand and sang to you while you slept. It was horrible we didn't know what to do. Nothing magical could help! We prayed for a miracle! And now you're awake! Thank God!"

"Shut up." Derek burst into a laughing fit. "Todd, can you find some of my saner friends?"

"N-N-No but y-y-y-you lov-v-v-ve me!" Derek managed to keep himself on his chair. Reed was going to miss this crazy boy so much.

"I'm guessing Reed's awake judging from Derek's hyena laughs." Sofie said as she stepped into view, she looked at the laughing boy and just shook her head. "Feeling anything weird?" She addressed Reed.

"Nope." He paused. "Wait, where're the others? Brittany?"

"At the other side of the wing, Brittany's got it badly too. Took a stool to the head after seeing the bad end of a weird hex. Heard of a spell that made you feel the effects of frostbite?" Sofie's face twisted a little bit as she sat down. Derek stood up and told them he was going to check on Brittany, hoping she was warming up now.

Reed shook his head. "No… I mean I must've glanced at it but you know I don't really pay attention to those kinds of spells."

"Hmm." Sofie leaned her head from side to side. "Well, the objective of that insane quiz was to get out of the room standing up. It would've been easier if Professor Crazy didn't charm the door to swat students away when near." She shuddered.

"You look fine to me."

"Trust me; you were out for quite a bit of time. I managed to make myself look decent." She chuckled. "We barely made it out of there _alive_."

"I wish you could've seen Derek though." Todd commented out of nowhere. Sofie jumped in her seat, nearly forgetting the roommate right across her. "He got out with only a limp! Without him we wouldn't've gotten out before Professor Sylvester turned the desks into fire-breathing serpents!" From behind the curtain, someone screamed for the snakes to go away.

"Good job, Hendricks." Sofie groaned, standing up and moving towards the other side. "You've successfully reminded Alice of _that _traumatic event. Excuse me while I try to comfort her."

"Sorry!" Todd called and turned to Reed with a rueful smile. The screams were quieted down in a few minutes, though they could still hear loud whimpers of "no more snakes, snakes aren't meant to breathe fire, no more snakes". Todd immediately felt remorse but then changed the subject to a friendlier tone. "Well, like I said, Derek was brilliant. He deflected nearly everything Professor Sylvester threw at his direction. He was clearly more prepared than any of us. I never would've expected it!"

"When you get attacked by bullies during third year, you kind of want to learn how to defend yourself." Reed imparted. Todd's face darkened at the mention of the incident. "Plus, O.W.L.'s is really stressing him out for some reason. He wants to get really good grades."

"Who doesn't?"

"Reed, you're alive!" Rachel giggled as she walked towards him, arms wide already. "I'm going to hug you now." The two friends hugged, though Rachel was being careful not to squeeze too hard. "Glad to see your limbs working."

"How's Britt?" Reed asked, crossing his legs under him. He felt a little lightheaded but he just squared his jaw and pushed through. If he lied down any longer, he was sure to get a headache.

Rachel and Kurt pulled a couple of seats toward them. "Well," Kurt started, "she's fine now. She's sitting up just like you but she's still shivering under direct sunlight. But all in all, she's fine, really."

"That's good…"

"So, after tea, we're having Defence…" Rachel traced imaginary circles on the sheets. "Do you think we should –?"

"Oh definitely." Kurt interjected matter-of-factly.

"But Professor Sylvester knows that after this little mishap we'd tell you to prepare yourselves for a surprise quiz." Reed expressed. "So she might not do it today."

"_However_," Rachel raised a finger to silence anyone in advance. "She could use that to her advantage – us thinking that she wouldn't do it today because _they_ told us about today so we think she wouldn't do it today. Therefore we get complacent and won't really prepare and then she kills us."

The boys stared at her blankly and for that brief moment of silence, they tried to comprehend what Rachel said while Alice continued to whimper on the other side of the curtain as Sofie and Regine try to comfort their roommate. "Huh?" Kurt retorted.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Think about it! _We _think she won't do it today because the current victims told us now so _we think _and _she thinks_ that we're prepared so it's not fun for her so she _won't do that_. On the contrary, she _knows_ we think that so she'll _definitely_ do it today because we think she wouldn't!"

"Run that by us again…" Reed scratched his head.

"I think you're looking into this too much like you did this year's choir competition." Kurt added, patting her head. Rachel groaned, leaning her head on Reed's bed.

"I think what she's trying to say is that she'll do it today so prepare." Todd cited.

"Yes!" She threw her hands up without raising her head. "Thank you, Todd!"

The curtain moved and Sofie stepped into Reed's space in the wing. "Well, she's back to sleep. No more talking of the you-know-whats." She looked at Todd pointedly and he just raised his hands in defence. "Feeling better?"

"Heaps. A little hungry though." Reed answered.

"Same."

"Look who's here!" Derek announced as he and Brittany shuffled towards them. She had a blanket around her and her hair was all down and dishevelled like they just thawed out of being frozen (which, for Brittany, _was_ the case). She had a steaming mug of hot chocolate in her hands, which were coloured a healthy pink as supposed to the rest of her pale form.

She smiled weakly. "Hey."

"How are you feeling, love?" Sofie asked, placing her elbows on the bed and leaning her chin on her palms.

"Cold." She mumbled as she tilted the mug into her mouth. "Madam Pomfrey told me to go back to Hufflepuff and warm up there."

"She's expecting more carnage after tea." Derek supplied sombrely. He looked to Kurt and Rachel. "Don't be part of that carnage." They nodded. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to bring this girl," he squeezed Brittany's shoulder, "back to Hufflepuff. She's in no condition to remember the way or the password…" They started walking away and Derek looked over his shoulder to add an afterthought. "Well, you know, she's in less condition than she usually is." Then they were out of eyesight.

"Mr. Hummel, Ms. Berry, Mr. Hendricks." Madam Pomfrey appeared, parting Rachel and Kurt to stand beside Reed. "It's nearly time for your next classes; I still have to check on Mr. Van Kamp." She touched his chin and tilted his head from left to right, then looked straight into his eyes. "Though I think he's in fine condition, considering…" She turned to them and waved. "Go."

"See you later, Reed!" Rachel said.

"Yeah, if we survive." Kurt grimaced.

Reed smiled and waved goodbye right before Madam Pomfrey began examining him for more ailments she must've missed (though highly unlikely after having Reed in the wing almost three times a week). And after a minute or two, he was free to leave the hospital wing, advised to "take it easy" for the rest of the afternoon. And that she didn't want to see him again for the rest of the week.

It wasn't a very likely promise to keep by Reed's standards.

As he was tying his shoes and preparing his mind for the next class – telling himself that no, Professor Flitwick wouldn't attack them – he unconsciously revelled on the fact that for once that whole week he wasn't fretting about his mum or his future.

* * *

><p>Later in the week, in the Room, the six friends were lying on their chaises in front of a fire concocted by the Room itself. Behind them, diffused, magical light lit the room in an eerily calming grey as supposed to the warm fire in front of them. It was snowing outside so they thought it appropriate to see it snow. They all sported minor injuries from Professor Sylvester's classes again but even the Professor confessed that they did better. It was a lazy day. They cared very little of the mountains of assignments they had. They just lied there, staring into space, bodies tired and weary. Kurt on the far left, Brittany on the far right. Sofie, Rachel, Reed, and Derek in the middle. They were all in various states of lethargy. Sofie reached for a pastry she brought up and gave up when she couldn't reach it, or her wand. Derek and his cat, Alec, were reclined in the same position and at that moment his owner wondered why he wasn't a cat. Brittany was falling asleep. Kurt was reading a book Derek lent to him by the firelight. Rachel was fantasizing about all the awards she was going to get in five years' time.<p>

"Holidays are next week, heard anything from your parents?" Kurt broke the silence, closing the book noisily.

"I'm still leaving school." Reed said, involuntarily turning to Derek who was rubbing Alec's tummy, thinking, again, that they'd be separated this year. They shared a smile.

"Same old, same old. Off to Paris for me. Thankfully my parents don't take me where I want to go all the time. If they did, I'd be actually _bored_ of Paris. Though my brothers are going to Norway to visit some of our other relatives." Sofie followed, sounding as if moving her lips was too much work. She rolled over. "Not going. Never liked Norway. How about you, Kurt? Are your parents still going to work?"

Kurt nodded as he stared into the fire. "They only had Christmas Eve and New Year's as breaks. Someone had to work in between. I'm sad it's them this year." _Damn Ministry. Damn St. Mungo's._ "I was kind of hoping to get some holiday shopping."

"I heard they're letting you go to Hogsmeade this year." Rachel commented.

"Tha's fun." Brittany's voice could be barely heard. Everyone turned to her and she was already half-asleep. Sofie took this as an indication that she needed to hibernate as well. She turned to her side and closed her eyes, throwing a pillow on top of her.

Derek smiled fondly at the girl beside him. "Too bad you can't be around to visit, Britt." He whispered and turned to the conscious ones. "My parents just sent me an owl today, telling me that they're visiting another Breaking Bookstore prospect somewhere in Scotland."

"Ooh, another one." Reed grinned.

"Yup! Can't wait to see the new store soon!" There was a moment of silence again, all of them unable to think of something to talk about. Was it because they'd been friends for nearly six years now that they've exhausted all forms of subjects since they spend most of their waking hours together? Or was it because they were genuinely boring people who lead boring, albeit magical, lives? Derek spoke up. "…We should probably do our homework." Kurt's pillow sailed across the room and hit Reed on the head, causing him to tumble down to the floor.

"Ow."

"Sorry!"

Reed threw the pillow at Derek. The belated hit made Derek fall over theatrically, clutching his chest and moaning in pain.

"My God, stop having sex there!" Sofie groaned under the pillow. The four friends looked at each other and then at the sleeping mound that was their friend before giggling madly. Rachel fell on her chaise. They went on laughing and mocking Derek whenever they caught their breath for a good three minutes before they sobered up. Neither Brittany nor Sofie stirred. The cats and Erik the owl stared at them though.

Kurt smiled at them and wordlessly went to the gramophone, picking a Christmas album from the mix of records stacked beside the player.

"Aw, we're not dancing right now!" Derek protested jokingly in a whisper. "My usual dance partner is out cold!"

"Dance with Reed," Kurt chuckled as Rachel pulled him into the starting position, "it's never stopped you before!"

Derek shook his head and pulled Reed towards him. "I lead this time." He said in a tone of mock seriousness.

"Fine." Reed countered, sounding as if he was unwillingly submitting himself to Derek's whims. They smiled and began dancing to _Last Christmas_. Then sang along once Rachel started singing. Reed cast a silencing charm around them the moment he saw Brittany toss and turn on her chaise. After that, they began just dancing around and singing at the top of their lungs. At some point, their pets joined in, even Lord Tubbington, who must've felt the Christmas spirit.

Having one lazy day as a fifth year would eventually bring bad news. That lazy day was the most sleep any of them got before the holidays. Reed was so stressed out he kept knocking ink bottles over and then slipping on the ink, multiple times. Brittany, on the other hand, simply gave up and frolicked around the school grounds. (This gave time for Derek to correct her spelling and grammar mistakes.) An hour later, Sofie followed suit. The teachers expected too much, in their opinion. Homework due the next day. Essays left and right. Professor Sylvester tying them to a chair hanging upside down from the ceiling while dangling over a pit of snakes and/or spiders where they had to break every charm that confined them. They feared for the next half of the year when the actual exams were going to take place. But release came when the final bell rang the next weekend and freed them from the bondage of parchment, ink, and professors. A day later, it was snowing and the goodbyes and see-you-laters were exchanged with the promise of letters and sweets and gifts.

"Try not to have too much fun without us." Rachel said, hugging Kurt and Derek. "And I'll try to send you something over the break."

"Don't forget to write!" Reed added as he hugged Derek.

"I'll be right back." Derek mumbled and he escaped to one side of the courtyard. Reed looked to him and shook his head when he saw who his friend was with. _Oh Derek._

"We would never!" Kurt laughed, reaching over to adjust Brittany's bonnet, then Sofie's scarf. "As long as you don't."

"Wouldn't dream of it! I'm bound to get Nightingale-esque ideas over the holiday so you and Derek better get ready!" Rachel patted Kurt's cheek.

"Would you look at our little Puff," Sofie said, earning the other's attention. She nodded to the right and there Derek was, giving a tight hug to a familiar Claw with gold-rimmed glasses. "I always thought that someday they'd somehow end up together."

Reed's grin grew more pronounced. "You didn't, you always wondered when Micah would decide he was straight and therefore attainable, making him another boy you want to have but not want to have." Sofie socked him on the arm, making him stumble into the snow.

"I _still_ don't get that part." Brittany grumbled, scratching her head. And to be honest, none of them really did. Sofie turned to smile at her friend and pulled her into a side hug.

"You don't have to, we'll always be here to explain." She said.

"_We_ don't understand either, still." Rachel pointed out.

"It's a simple concept wrapped inside a complex box of complexity and opposites." Sofie moved her hips from side to side, smiling, not finding the need to explain herself to anyone or to herself. She was just not a commitment kind of girl.

"We try to leave it like that instead of opening it and figuring out what's inside." Reed shook the snow from his hair, just in time for Derek to come back with a huge smile and a newly wrapped Christmas present in the most obvious shape of a book.

"So when's the wedding?" Sofie was first to say.

"Can I plan it?" Kurt was second, and by this time, Derek was turning a bright apple red. "I'm thinking beach wedding?"

"Can we have cookies as a cake?" Brittany bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Shut up, we're just mates." Derek muttered, twirling the gift in his hands. The others, not believing a single word, started poking him, urging him to tell the truth, teasing him relentlessly on the very real but still denied fact that he, Derek Breaker, fancied Micah Randall. He tried swatting them away, telling Reed, Rachel, Sofie and Brittany that they're going to miss the carriages, telling them all to leave him alone until finally he just laughed and admitted the truth (and it was then he was sure he saw Micah climbing on a carriage with the Anderson brothers).

"Alright _fine_ I want to have his adopted babies, sue me!" He raised his hands in defeat.

"Gaybies yay!" Sofie laughed, hugging Derek one last time. "Oh, I think these are the last of the carriages, I'm getting us one!" She skipped towards one, swatting a couple of third years coming towards it.

"Wait, I thought babies were made if you love someone hard enough." Brittany mused, her face turned into a look of mild concentration. "Like if you love someone and if you wanted a baby, the stork will sense your love and bring you a baby." Her friends looked at her with varying expressions of surprise and if Sofie were there, she would be the first to speak up. Brittany stared back at them. "Right?"

"She really believes that." Kurt mumbled, rubbing his forehead.

"Brittany…" Rachel held Brittany very gently on the shoulders. "What do you think the condoms are for?" She said very slowly, nodding her head at every word, hoping Brittany would grasp the concept.

She stared blankly down at the Slytherin and leaned towards her. "To protect me from cooties."

"Wow." Derek whistled then patted Reed's shoulder. "Good luck with _that_ sex talk."

Reed grimaced just in time for Sofie to call them to the carriage. Kurt and Derek laughed, turning away. At least _they_ didn't have to suffer through that awkward ride back to King's Cross, which felt like compensation for not going back home for Christmas. It's not like they couldn't hole themselves in the Room for the duration of the holiday break. Meanwhile, the only boy in the carriage tried to figure out a way to block out the up and coming sex talk with Brittany, only coming up blank as they started stepping into it. Rachel leaned into Sofie and whispered what she missed.

"Oh Brittany…" Sofie exhaled, her bright blue eyes blown wide with shock. Even _she_ didn't think Brittany was capable of that level of ignorance – after _everything_ she'd done. She took Brittany's hands into hers. "We need to talk."

"Reed… What's going on?" The poor thing was looking more confused by the second.

"I'm sorry, for both of us." Reed replied, trying to be part of the carriage, or somehow learn to disapparate in Hogwarts grounds.

"Luckily for you," _Have you not heard what I just said, Rachel?_ Reed thought, inwardly groaning. "My fathers have given me the sex talk twice this year and I will now impart my significant knowledge to you." She even had the gall to grin.

* * *

><p>As more and more snow fell, more distance came between the ones going home and the ones staying at Hogwarts. The castle almost always felt empty as soon as the doors closed against the cold whiteness. It wasn't as noisy. It was strange that it wasn't noisy while it was still day outside, less creepy, but strange nonetheless. Kurt often wondered, while Derek prattled about Micah and the book Micah gave him, what it would be like during summer when students weren't there. He felt so small inside a castle with most of the student population out and about having their holidays with their parents, what more if there were <em>no<em> students? He imagined only the ghosts and the paintings and the ramblings of Filch were the sounds the walls heard once the children had gone home for a while. How lonely it must be if he decided to stay for the summer (if that was allowed). He was sure Derek would survive, he'd live on books. He'd be fine for the first week but he bores easily so he'd be wishing to go home afterwards. He needed noise to survive. _Maybe that's why I hang out with these idiots I hang out with._ "Do you think the teachers stay in the castle while it's summer?" Kurt asked once the other fell silent, admiring the first page of the book he was just given.

"Hmm?" Derek looked up, letting the cover of the book furl back into place. "Oh, I suppose. I know that Professor Trelawney does. And could you imagine the Headmistress on a beach on holiday?" He began chortling during that last part, picturing Professor McGonagall in a bathing suit lying on a sunny beach somewhere warm. "If you really, _really_ picture it… With one of those huge sunglasses and a beach umbrella, it almost looks plausible." Kurt looked like he was in the middle of deciding if he thought the image was disgustingly absurd or if it was obscenely amusing. Derek continued, raising his hands to the air around his head. "And like with a really big sunhat. And iced tea."

Kurt decided to laugh. "You are insane."

"Oh my God, do you think Professor Sylvester –?" He began laughing before he finished the thought. "Braid each other's hair? Talk about _boys_?!"

"I'm so done with you!" His friend was walking towards the staircases. "So done!"

Derek followed giddily. "What about Filch? And _Mrs. Norris_. Bloody hell! It's a Hogwarts faculty beach party!"

"Why is Gryffindor in a tower?!" Kurt complained half-heartedly as he run up the steps.

"Kurt, don't be like that! You can't stop our love!" The crazy one ran after him.

"Hey, gay captains!" The two of them stopped before they ran up the second flight of stairs. A few steps away, Santana and X were standing there with an air of slight disapproval. "Don't forget, New Year Nightingale party at the choir room. We weren't going to invite you but then I wouldn't get the possibility of seeing you two drunk, which would be such a shame."

"How very considerate of you." Kurt said, dryly.

X made a sound of amusement and nodded her head. "You're welcome." A look passed between Kurt and Derek as the two Slytherins walked away.

"You know, I've always wanted to get drunk." Derek admitted.

"I am not holding your hair up as you vomit into a bowl." Kurt said in advance.

"What makes you think I'm going to vomit?" He sounded actually hurt by the thought of it. "You don't think I can hold in my alcohol?" Kurt started walking away, up the stairs. "I've been drinking sips of wine from my parents' wineglasses since I was ten! I can hold alcohol!" He quickly followed after his co-captain. "Kurt!"

"If you beat me to Gryffindor, I'll let you in!"

"And they say _I'm_ mad!"

* * *

><p><em>Dearest Darlingest Reed-ykins,<em>

_First and foremost, happy birthday! I hope you're having a grand time! I'm already missing your birthday dinner and our birthday sleepover! It's a crime!_

_I forgot what part of Europe you were in. Was it Milan, Prague, France, or Rome? Maybe not France, I seem to remember you telling me Italy. Then again I could be wrong. Anywho, how are you? I miss you. Kurt's great company but I miss doing that thing we did at Christmas where we send sparks to each other even though we're not allowed magic outside of school. Since I don't know where you are, I couldn't even attempt it (neither could you, apparently, but it's okay). And that thing where we decide which house we're having Christmas dinner at and then we go to one of our rooms and listen to the Christmas covers of our favourite singers. Did that with Kurt though, it didn't really feel the same. It really sucks that your mum took you away from me! The Van Breaker Christmas traditions have been broken! She needs to pay! With clothes from that fashion show for moi. Okay maybe for the others too but mostly for me because I'm the one who's been WRONGED here! Kidding. _

_Kurt and I have had fun, really. There's just a little Hogwarts students left, like a little over fifty – and most of them are Nightingales (we're having a New Year party with just us Nightingales in the choir room! Really exciting stuff.) Kurt's been taking me to the Room, looking for new old things to wear. I don't mind, your love for clothes has rubbed off on me somewhat. And we've been brain storming for next year's choir competition. Kurt's planning on singing a lead, though he fears everyone else is better. I laughed at his face. We just need the right song for him and he'll blow everyone away. Vali, you know Vali, right? He came up to us with an idea for an a capella number. He said that he and Blaine (love of Kurt's life, fire of his loins) thought about it right before break while jamming out with a few Nightingales when the choir room was empty. He was going to show us during New Year since it's open mic entertainment, fun, dance songs only, unless it's a couple songs, and couple songs aren't allowed until after 1AM. Vali told us it had the potential for multiple leads so I'm hoping to get Kurt into a major lead while I get a minor one. I can't get over the thing that happened on Halloween. Singing lead CAN be fun!_

_Hogwarts is really lonely with this much students in it. It's too quiet and I dare not go out alone after sundown. Been having conversations with the Fat Friar though. Really fun guy. Dead guy, I mean. Finn's been nice, but we haven't got a lot in common. Scored manly points when we talked about Quidditch. Apparently, the Hufflepuffs got a high chance of being champions again! Suck on that Ravenclaw!_

_I guess that's all I've got to say right now and just in time too, I've got to go out with Kurt today. We planned on going around the grounds when the snowing stopped flurrying down in fat dollops. Lucky thing I've got a new coat! (Had to wrestle it out of a ridiculously stubborn wardrobe but I won, the wardrobe is now firewood.) Write back soon. Can't wait for you to get back here. _

_Love,_

_Derek_

"Where're you going?" Finn asked as Derek appeared in the common room, in a warm chocolate brown trench coat, holding a newly sealed envelope.

"Walking around with Kurt." He answered, kneeling in front of the passageway out.

The tall brother of his friend began to stand up from his place near the fire and grinned nervously. "Maybe I should come, you know just in case one of you falls in the lake or something and –"

"We're going to talk about boys, Finn."

"Have a nice day, don't stay out long, you might freeze to death." He sat back down in front of the fire and Derek chuckled, completely aware that that was the only way for Finn to leave them alone nowadays. He'd used that excuse ten times now and yet Finn still believed that they talked about boys the whole time, thereby avoiding him ten times. He wished, just a little bit, as he crawled through the entrance, that Finn would join them nonetheless and he'd actually have to talk about boys. He wasn't sure who'd be more uncomfortable, Kurt or Finn. That would be a fun experiment.

After a quick visit to the kitchens to get a big muffin for them to share, he walked down the empty corridors. The only other beings there were the paintings and the Fat Friar, who waved at him before flying through a wall. Other than that, it was all quiet. He could hear the wind blowing through the empty castle and if he didn't already believe in ghosts (how could you not in this place?) he'd freak out in the middle of the afternoon. It's really the night time that truly frightened him – there's just something about being in a dark castle alone. He knew that the basilisk was dead and that it was impossible to see ghosts of dead Death Eaters floating around but there was just something very sinister about the dark and what lurked in it that made Derek a little skittish. He wondered how the Slytherins withstood it; they weren't exactly Gryffindors (not that he was stereotyping).

"Took you long enough." Kurt beamed from the top of the stairs.

"Sorry, I was too busy fending off your brother and thinking philosophically about the walls of Hogwarts." Derek answered half-sarcastically. "Here, have part of this delicious butter muffin while I put on my scarf."

Kurt inclined his head and took the delicious butter muffin out of his friend's hand. "Gladly." He bit down the top part as his friend put on his equally yellow (though a darker shade) scarf. They started going down the corridor, towards Hogwarts grounds. With each step, they could feel the air going colder. "So, how did you get Finn to bow out this time?"

"Same old sentence: we're going to talk about boys." Derek chortled, fastening his scarf.

"He fell for that one again?" Kurt's eyebrows rose. "What must he _think_ of me?"

"A boy crazy gay boy, we're like Sofie, only we are boys." Derek took the muffin out of Kurt's hands, taking a bite for himself. "This is the best bloody muffin ever." He took another bite while Kurt plucked off another piece of the muffin. "Maybe we should talk about boys this time, just to _shake things up_."

"It wouldn't hurt, I suppose. Besides, talking to you about what I want to do when I get out of here is getting a little old." Kurt nodded to himself. He sighed as he felt the piece of butter muffin go down his throat. He looked at the half-eaten muffin and shook his head. "You start." He pulled out his wand and pointed at the muffin. "_Engorgio._"

The muffin swelled in size while Derek was saying, "Well, I'm not really sure where to start. I guess I could start with Micah." The gust of wind blew at them as they neared the bridge that led to Hagrid's Hut. From afar, they could see some smoke disappearing into the grey sky, indicating that their Care of Magical Creatures professor was huddled inside with Fang. Kurt tightened his coat around himself. "Micah's… really fit. I don't know when I started fancying him though. It's like one day I was like: hey friendy friend-friend, how's your book reading? Then the next day I'm like: I want to kiss your face. Do you know what I mean?"

Kurt laughed. "No, not really. You know I've only had eyes for Blaine." It felt weird saying it aloud. Reason told him that there was no one around, but Paranoia told him that someone was listening from under the bridge. "The first time I saw him up close, I think it was in choir, I just totally felt my knees wobble because my _God_ have you see his face?"

"Yes, I am fully aware that Blaine is one of the beautiful people. So are you." Derek nudged and took another bite of the engorged muffin. The blush on Kurt's face wasn't because of the cold anymore. Once they were on the bridge, the wind wasn't blowing, making the silence seem peaceful. "When you say you've only had eyes for Blaine, does that mean Blaine's the only one who made you feel warm in the pants?"

"The way you say it…" Kurt rolled his eyes and took another piece of the muffin. He turned his head to Derek, who was looking at him with an eyebrow raised. He blew out a puff of breath. "Yes and no. I told you guys before, Blaine's different from any other crush I've ever had. I've got eyes for other people since obviously Blaine's still with Jude so he's majorly off-limits. I mean, Logan's pretty good-looking."

"Rumour has it he likes you." Derek teased.

"He doesn't."

"Oh he does."

"It's just a rumour." Kurt snarled, throwing a perfectly good piece of muffin at Derek's head.

Derek caught the piece before it fell on the floor and popped it inside of his mouth. "Admit it, if he asked you out, you would say yes. If you don't say yes, I would be _so_ offended. We can never be friends."

"I _suppose_ I would." Kurt admitted. "But I'm saving myself for Blaine Anderson." Derek guffawed and it echoed throughout the cavern. He laughed as well because he never thought he was able to say that with a straight face.

"This is _truly_ a first, I need a camera!" Derek managed to say and managed to keep what was left of the engorged muffin in his hands. He held onto one of the ledges and sighed, a few bubbles of laughter escaping. "Wow, _Kurt and Blaine, sitting on a tree F-U-C-K-I-N-G_!" He sang and Kurt immediately turned red and pointed his wand at Derek. "Ooh, I'm scared now." He stuffed the muffin into his mouth and ran. He heard Kurt utter a spell and he ducked. The sparks showed over his head.

"That's right! Run, Breaker!" He shouted another spell and Derek threw himself to the floor. He swallowed the muffin and began to laugh, apologizing half-heartedly as he did. The spells weren't particularly harmful, just enough to throw someone to the ground and incapacitate them. Kurt had already started to have fun when Derek began to fight back. Snowballs flew, jets of green, red, and pale blue raced through the air, hitting anything other than their target. Kurt had a lot of spells in his arsenal, managing to manipulate some of the branches of the surrounding trees. Derek, on the other hand, didn't have to move anywhere with his impenetrable Shield Charm.

Sure enough, they'd earned an audience. Hagrid watched them through the window of his hut with a huge mug of tea in his hand and some binoculars in the other. As a teacher, he should've stopped it. As Hagrid, he was enjoying every minute of it. Apart from the teacher, the Tweedles found themselves watching from behind the bridge threshold, deciding whether or not they should join the fun.

"You know, we could get in trouble." Kurt said before melting the barrage of snowballs coming at him.

"Are you giving up already?" Derek taunted, fighting back yet another branch that dared come near his circle. "Are my skills too much for Kurt Hummel? Too bad we're too far from the potions room!" Kurt threw another spell at him in mock anger and Derek easily deflected it. He smiled to himself proudly. He could defend himself from anything and anyone. He'd practiced getting his wand out before he got pinned down or disarmed. He didn't need to get physically strong to protect himself, just agile reflexes concerning his wand. Though the thought of having someone actually attack him while he was in Hogwarts was very slim after that incident at third year, it posed a very real danger in the real world. The way he was beating Kurt right now made him feel powerful for once, just like he did in the Defence quiz. He could just imagine it now, gay bashers on their knees, muggers flying onto a wall, it's like he was prepared for anything.

"Alice!"

"We've come to rescue you!"

Except that. He wasn't really expecting that.

"Oh wow, I'm actually glad to see you." Kurt laughed, pointing at Derek with his wand. "Take him down boys! He has insulted my honour!"

"What honour? We were talking about boys you wanted to fuck!" Derek countered, making Evan's hair a sickly green. "There, now I call you Evan." The twins looked at each other, amused. No one could tell them apart and this must've been a coincidence but a really spot on coincidence. They loved it.

"I'm going to murder you, Derek Breaker." Kurt was still very red. Derek stuck out his tongue.

"A strange turn of events." Evan grinned. "Alice versus the White Queen."

"Strange indeed." They took out their wands and pointed at Derek.

"Three against one, how exciting."

* * *

><p>"And to think this all started with 'let's talk about boys'." Derek panted as he hung from a thick tree branch, tied up in rope from his neck to his ankles, a charm perpetuated by the silver haired twin, Ethan. It was the most exhilarating day of this holiday. He <em>could<em> honestly say he didn't have a chance against all three of them, especially with the Tweedles who were more creative with their magic than Kurt was. At least he put up a fight. It would've been easier if he knew how to do non-verbal.

The twins made their hair turn back to their usual blond and Kurt tried to mend his scorched clothes. The snow had melted around them due to one of Derek's last ditch efforts to win, leaving their shoes covered in mud. Fortunately, it was still snowing so by that evening no one would notice the big gaping hole in the whiteness. Kurt felt haggard, his hair mussed up, clothes torn, and his boots muddied. "It was fun while it lasted. I don't even know how it got as out of hand as this." He said, smiling at Derek.

Derek shrugged as much as he could in his bounds. "Things go horribly right-wrong when the Tweedles intervene."

"That _is_ the truth!" Ethan cried jovially as he and his brother walked toward their prisoner. "And I like it 'right-wrong', I find it an accurate description."

"So you _were_ talking about boys?" Evan followed, looking at the knot that held Derek to the tree, deciding whether or not he should untie him or leave him there and let him find a way out on his own. "Why don't you talk about boys with us, Kurt?"

"Because you're crazy and you might actually take them to my room and make them like me." Kurt said in one breath, not even having to think about it.

The Tweedles laughed. "True."

"But they know right?" Derek asked and glanced at the twins. "You _know_, I can tell."

"That's absurd." They said at the same time. "We don't _know_ that Kurt is madly in love with Blaine."

Kurt scoffed indignantly as Derek laughed. "Oh this is golden."

"Derek fancies Micah Randall!" The twins paused to look at Kurt, then they looked back up at Derek.

"You bitch." Derek glared lightly, he didn't really mean it but it just had to be said. "That was low, even for you!"

"You destroyed my sweater!"

"Ladies, let's not fight again." Evan raised his palms in between the two friends with a chuckle. Ethan flicked his wand and let Derek drop into the mud, where he groaned audibly. The twins picked him up and cleaned him with barely a look at his direction. "Do you two want to come with us?"

"Uh, no, I have enough of you two during the night time, thank you very much." Kurt said with feigned sweetness. He already did one idiotic thing with them today, and that's one too many to be perfectly honest with himself.

"Aw, Kurt, come on, it'll be fun!" Ethan skipped to him and began poking his sides. "We're just heading to the Quidditch Pitch! It's perfectly innocent."

"Oh you mean like that time you used Bludgers to –"

"We're not using Bludgers now." Evan interrupted Derek. "In fact, we're just going there to pretend like we're Seekers and catch the Snitch."

"Then maybe go fly around the school, following Filch around and making noises just to confuse him." Ethan continued, throwing an arm around Kurt's shoulders. "What do you say?"

"Well," Kurt looked pleadingly at his friend that just this once he wouldn't give in to the twins' crazy. "I haven't really ridden a broom after the first year lessons, can't say I was really good. Could you teach me again?" Kurt groaned as Evan and Ethan whooped. They brought the two of them to the Pitch even though Kurt didn't agree to anything. It was going to be a long day, he could tell. He didn't originally want to go on a broomstick but _someone_ had to chase them around before they do something reckless.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Mum &amp; Dad,<em>

_Happy New Year. Thanks for the presents you sent for us! Finn and I are doing just fine, we hope you are too. New Years and Christmas isn't as fun this year as it was the last time. I wish your jobs didn't keep you so busy during these times but I guess we have to pay for food, clothes, shelter, and our school books somehow. A few of us are having a get together for New Years, just the Nightingales and by the time you're reading this, it'd be done with. I promise not to drink, as I am sure there will be drinks. SOMEONE has to look after Derek, if you know what I mean. (Please don't tell his mum.) And the twins. I don't know how their parents handle them, honestly. I hope you liked the sweets we bought you. It's not really much but we'll try to get you better presents again next year. _

_The twins say hi. It's a good thing Shane isn't here or I would've truly gone mad. I try to spend my time away from the crazy but with Derek as company, chances are slim while madness is abundant. Now they're urging me to finish the letter already or we'd be late for the party. _

_I hope you had a wonderful New Year even though you still have work the next day. I hope the house isn't too lonely because Hogwarts is a little bit. I miss you a lot. _

_Love,_

_Kurt_

"Just let me put it in an envelope." Kurt sneered, making the Tweedles stop their pestering. They watched him with restless silence as he dried the ink, folded the parchment, and shoved it inside of the envelope. He turned around and sighed at them. "Alright, _now_ you may drag me to the party without the danger of me hexing you down the stairs."

The twins suddenly went, "WEEEEE", causing Kurt to raise his eyebrows in surprise and in slight fear. They took him by the arms and nearly carried him out of Gryffindor. When the passed through the portrait hole, they saw Derek and Finn already waiting for them and the Tweedles dropped Kurt to his feet. "Happy New Year!" They said, hugging both Derek and Finn. "C'mon, the party waits for no one!" Without even letting go, they brought the two Puffs to the stairs. Finn flailed, shocked at how one of the twins were holding him up. Kurt ran after them, taking out his wand just in case somebody fell. Fortunately it didn't come to that since the twins released his brother and his best friend once they started climbing down the stairs. It wasn't pleasant for anybody (except for Derek, who enjoyed it just a tad).

Only the Nightingales were allowed to the party. They were allowed one guest per person but since most of the people left in the school were Nightingales and most of _their_ friends were either out of the school also Nightingales so it didn't really cause much of an alarm. Finn was only there because Kurt asked him to since he had a feeling Derek was going to be sensationally pissed tonight. He got that idea when Derek mentioned it over breakfast. _Someone_ had to bring Derek down to Hufflepuff and it wasn't going to be him. He was expecting minimal outside choir people and he didn't mind at all. If there were more, it'd be a repeat of that New Year during his first year.

The Tweedles were first to arrive at the choir doors, rapping their knuckles in tandem against the wooden surface. Kurt felt Derek wrap his arm around his with a giddy squeal to follow it. He rolled his eyes, wondering why on Earth Professor Schue and Lorien, the past choir captain, decided on making Derek his co-captain.

The doors opened and X was in the middle. The lights nearly blinded them and the music nearly threw them off their feet. Some fourth year was belting out a tune they'd heard in one of the many song suggestions suggested before picking the set list. X, who was wearing a short silver number, put a hand on her hip and grinned. "Well?" The Tweedles entered first, beaming at her and complimenting her overall look as they passed. She laughed. She turned to the other boys. "Co-captains?" She said in a horribly patronizing tone and her gaze turned to the tallest one. "Hudson."

"Dale." He nodded back. Kurt really couldn't fathom how people from opposing Quidditch teams couldn't call each other by their first names. _What's going to happen to them?_ He thought. _Are they going to burst into flames? _

"I'm not going to keep the doors open all night, we've got a live one singing." She said impatiently, flapping her hand, beckoning them inside. Derek pulled Kurt in and Finn followed. "Drinks are on the right with the snacks. Feel free to get shitfaced." X flitted back to the other side of the room where some of her friends were having a laugh about some joke.

Kurt blinked a few times to get used to the darkness and the flashing lights. It was so much better than the last New Year party he went to and he could sense Derek was feeling the same way. He made his way over to the drinks. Kurt, on the other hand, was just looking at the scene. A girl was finishing up the song. She even waved at Kurt from the makeshift stage and he waved back. It was upbeat, the bass was heavy and it's a wonder how anyone could still hear her voice. It was such a soft soprano most of the time. There was a small crowd jostling each other near the stage, some of them holding cups of who-knows-what and some of them in various states of undress despite the chilly night outside. He shook his head at them. There was no way he was going to end up like that.

Derek bumped into him. "Here, I got you something. It's something called ambrosia. It's milk and vodka, but they call it ambrosia like what the Greek gods drink... Or was it ate? Anyway." Kurt took the cup and looked into it. Milk and alcohol was such a weird combination to him, he didn't think he could drink it. Derek took a sip. "_So_ good."

"Dere, what exactly do you think you're getting by getting drunk in this party?" Kurt asked, straightforward.

"Experience." He answered with the same straightforward tone but then he burst into a quick giggle, nudging Kurt's side. "Lighten _up_! It's a party! Plus I've never been really sloshed before; I want to know what it's like." Kurt took Derek's surprisingly empty cup and gave him his own. "Aw, don't be like that! Just one cup."

"No."

"Kurt."

"No."

"_Kuuuurrrtttt_." Derek started nudging him with his whole body and it looked like something the crowd was doing on the dance floor. "One sip! Take it or leave it!" Another person came up to the stage and dragged a couple more as a different song began playing. A familiar summer song that everyone listened to at some point and had it stuck in their head. This being a room full of choir singers, they started singing along in perfect harmony. That was quite a thing to hear after seeing all of the cups they were holding. "Please, then I'll leave you alone, I swear!"

"Fine, fine." Kurt rolled his eyes and smiled. He took the cup and took a small sip. It actually tasted good so he pulled in another sip before giving it back to Derek.

"You liked it." Derek sang, taking a few sips again.

"Just a little." Kurt admitted. "Now go! Don't let me spoil your 'experience hunting'." He said with his fingers doing air quotes. The Puff punched his arm lightly before walking back to the drinks table – muttering something about tequila.

When Kurt thought the party was in complete swing when they arrived, he was sorely mistaken. When he thought it was already loud, the party grew louder. When he thought the crowd couldn't get wilder, they started doing drinking games and making out in dark corners. In the end, he got himself one more cup of alcohol, something lemony he didn't know what but it looked harmless enough. Derek was a lost cause. He flitted in and out of Kurt's vision. It wasn't that he wasn't having fun, he was! He loved watching the Nightingales lose themselves. He just didn't want himself to look totally messed up. He didn't feel the need for experience at that moment. He had the rest of his life, after all.

Finally, he found himself a seat and Finn lumbered over after talking to a couple of Quidditch players. "Aren't drinking?" He asked over a scream that resounded through the room, sitting down beside his brother.

"No, someone has to be responsible at these things!" He shouted over the burst of music that brought along the subsequent cheers of the crowd. "Someone has to take care of Derek!"

Finn laughed. "You know I could do that for you!"

"Yeah, well, you can't do it on your own!" Kurt crossed his legs just as a familiar face came stumbling towards him with a huge goofy grin. Derek jumped into his lap and nuzzled his face into his neck. "…Hello?"

Derek tilted his head up to take one last sip of whatever he was drinking – they all started to mix together after he went around asking people what they were drinking and they were oh-so happy to oblige letting him taste. "Hi, Kurt. Why aren't you dancing? Dancing is fun." Kurt sighed and patted Derek's back very lightly. "They also made out, Kurt! X and Sana," the other boy paused to burp, "but they made two other boys kiss too after they did. Evan and Ethan. It was so hot, Kurt. They're so hot." Derek's breath was creeping upwards, from Kurt's neck to his jawline. He was already mouthing on the skin when Kurt looked at Finn pleadingly to get him off.

Finn, uncomfortable at how Derek was kissing his brother's jaw, sighed and pulled Derek off of Kurt. Derek shrugged Finn's hands off, laughing giddily. "Wow." Kurt could feel the room tilting in Derek's world by the way he swayed.

"What about Micah, Dere?" Kurt asked with an amused tone.

The drunken boy shook his head and leaned on Finn, who now looked doubly uncomfortable. "Hmm? Oh yes, Micah. Micah isn't here. Micah is just my mate!" He looked up at Finn and pouted. "Finn, can you make Micah love me?" Kurt started to laugh very hard as his brother began to flounder up a response.

Up on stage, Santana and X stumbled over. "Hey! Three minutes until midnight, Nightingales!" Santana announced much to the joy of the people in the room. "We're going to bring you into the New Year with one more song. Grab a partner because you might want to make out in the end." The music started, the two Slytherins sang on stage, and Derek rolled his head to it. He felt so high, so fluid, so _buoyant_, like he could do anything. The song made him laugh for some reason and he started to stand up straight again.

"I love this song." He said, already dancing toward the crowd. Kurt didn't make any move to get his friend back – he knew he was _long gone_. He watched as the boy disappeared into the mass of bodies that was the dance floor. Derek felt the heat grow as he worked his way through the floor, through friends from choir, through strangers he saw fleetingly in the corridors. He moved his body to the music, not exactly sure what he looked like or what he was doing. He danced with everyone and anyone that got in his way. He cheered the moment X announced that they had one minute left to the year. He cheered as the confetti started raining down all of them. People were already firing fireworks up to the ceiling. Too bad he couldn't join in; he left his wand in Hufflepuff. Some of them passed around a bottle of Firewhiskey and Derek took in a couple of gulps before passing it along. The song and the year neared its ends and he felt two bodies press against him, as well as two arms. At this point, he'd gone off the deep end, the alcohol clouding every inch of judgement or feeling or memory he had in him.

"May we have this dance?" Ethan whispered hotly into his ear. From where he was, he could smell the alcohol on him. He let them have this dance because it didn't matter who he danced with at that moment, as long as it felt good. He laughed as the Tweedles danced with him. What happened next barely registered, he knew they were touching, he knew they were dancing, he knew people were counting down. He felt a nagging feeling that he shouldn't be doing this because of Micah. He just pushed that feeling away because he was having _way_ too much fun with the twins. He got what he wanted for experience and then some. He closed his eyes and the next few minutes would be lost to him.

"Don't forget that New Year's Kiss!" Santana shouted, doubling the effect of the charm they placed on the stage, not that anyone cared, their senses being dulled by the drinks. She nodded at a friend offstage, the same friend who kept time. "Everybody! _Ten! Nine! Eight!_"

Kurt counted down as loud as he could. Beside him, Finn was fisting the air at each number. He shrugged, taking one last sip of the drink he had. He was buzzed but he still had his head on his shoulders. He followed Finn's example. "_Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!_" Sparks flew around the room and more confetti fell. Couples began kissing each other and the music fell into a familiar beat, though Santana, who was clearly going to sing the next song, stayed on stage, cheering, waiting for everyone the excitement to die down for a bit. Kurt and Finn touched their differently shaped cups against each other. Finn drank while Kurt had nothing to drink anymore. He thought it was a wonder how people kept on firing fireworks from their wands and yet no one was getting hit, not that he was complaining.

"Why don't we join in?" Finn suggested, gesturing to the crowd. "It's a celebration anyway!"

"After they stop snogging each other at random." Kurt countered in a joking tone. True to his word, once the crowd began to look like separate beings again, he walked towards it. When he was close enough, he found one of his roommates sucking face with his best friend, while the other blond was attacking his neck. Everyone was cheering them on as they were the last kissers of the floor.

"Would you look at that?! One of our choir captains is getting some tonight!" Santana pointed out the obvious and everyone laughed. The twins laughed, pulling away from their White Queen. Derek gasped in a huge breath, like he just came back to life. He felt a little disoriented, not exactly knowing where he was or which way was up. "Now, I know you know this song, Muggle-born or not – Britney Spears is universal! Who wants to sing it with me?"

"Me!" Derek raised his hand, his face looking a little droopy. Kurt was about to do the same thing but retracted it as soon as Derek spoke up.

Santana nodded at him and began to sing. Derek sang back as he walked towards the stage. People were filling in the gaps of what was once the stage for their captain's little scene with a couple of hot twins. Derek was clearly giddy from what was happening on stage and Kurt watched with half-horror and half-amusement as two inebriated Nightingales sang _Me Against the Music_. The twins jumped in at the rap part of the song, blending their voices perfectly with Derek's. Santana laughed before joining in. Kurt was pushed from side to side and he found the only solution was to dance with the crowd. But he wanted to be on stage. And since most of them were literally falling to the floor in half-assed attempts to dancing, he felt like he should do it. Besides, during his time in the Nightingales, he only had less than five performances as lead in front of a crowd. He deserved this. So once Santana started singing in the second half of the song, Kurt sang her next line as loud and as clear as he could.

"Go Alice!" One of the twins said of the others' cheers. Derek clapped his hands and ran to the end of the stage, offering his hand to Kurt's. With the two captains front and centre, they began tearing down the song in half. They had the crowd jumping. On the side, where the instruments were as well as some Nightingales, Vali whispered into their ears, talking about that song they had practiced with Blaine. They passed it along. He did, after all, promise to show Derek and Kurt the song.

After the song and a pose from the drunk performers that made the people in the room laugh (Kurt was dragged into it, literally), the music stopped and an eerie hush came to the room. But another sound came and it was the instrumental to _Animal_. Vali led the boys towards the stage, grinning. It being a room full of Nightingales, they slowly picked up the beat as well as the song. The twins pushed Kurt forward to sing next.

The sense of camaraderie charged with the following songs, probably because their captains were leading it, probably because the New Year had come. Whatever the reason, Kurt was still surprised that after two hours of jumping, dancing, and singing, they still had some fight in them. None of them got back to the houses until nearly four in the morning. A charmed piano, guitar, and violin combo played as they walked out of the room. After two more hours of dancing, singing, and jumping, everyone sort of sat down and passed the last few bottles of alcohol, telling stories and singing slower songs (some of them even joked that they wanted the co-captains to pick them as lead for the next choir competition while on stage). It was one of those nights were no one liked anyone less or more. It didn't promise that that sort of friendship would continue away the night. It didn't make them any closer than they originally were. But it gave them a different level of connection with each other. Some sort of strange unity with other people. They danced, sang, and drank their way to the New Year together and most of them were choirmates. Everyone left the room in high spirits even though they were all undoubtedly knackered.

The twins were singing a song Kurt hadn't heard of and he hoped they weren't going to do that when they reached their room. Luckily, he didn't have to carry them like Finn was carrying a passed out Derek on his back. "I'll see you tomorrow. Tell me if he lives." He chuckled, patting Derek's hair.

"Will do." Finn grunted, hefting Derek higher on his back. "Goodnig – morning, Kurt."

"Goodnighmorning too, Finn." With that, the two brothers turned around and went in opposite directions, one going up, the other going down.

After being a very loud room with many voices and sounds for nearly six hours, Kurt found the castle too silent again (one of the Gryffindors or Ravenclaws must've put a Silencing Charm on the twins). He'd just gotten used to it and now he felt like the first day the majority of the students left for holiday. He found himself wishing for a repeat of the party. He might not have gotten drunk but he enjoyed it like the others. Every painting he passed by was asleep, except for a portrait of a girl who was watching them with tired curiosity. Kurt was the last one who passed her. "Fun party?"

"Yes." He answered, still not used to talking to paintings. "Happy New Year."

"Thank you." She smiled kindly. "Best head on to bed." Kurt nodded and continued his ascent, yawning in the process. His bed was going to be a welcome sight once all the climbing he was doing was over.

* * *

><p>A new year brought a new season of Quidditch. The teams trained harder now that the ones who joined the choir were freed of other duties. They battled over schedules, they pushed through the cold weather of a winter that seemed to never end. Very soon, just as the ice would melt away, the games would begin. The four houses would separate from others and band together, cheering for their own. Then slowly, one by one, two would be left and one would rise as a champion. It was at this time that the competitiveness of others grew, some lightly, some not so. Pranks were played and taunts were thrown. But school's only just gotten back into motion after the seemingly brief break and the championships were still a long way to go. But it was still bearing down on the Quidditch players. Like the O.W.L.s were for the fifth years. Meanwhile, the Nightingales were gearing up on their love song repertoires for the impending Valentine's Week. They practiced their songs alone, in groups, with friends, with a partner, making it sound romantic for the person they were going serenade by request. Before long, the week was just a couple of days away and the Nightingales have yet to make an announcement.<p>

An impromptu number was volunteered to be done after the announcement just to shake things up as well as getting a chance to sing in front of an audience. It was easily granted since one of the singers was one of the captains, empowered by what happened during the New Years party.

As the student body were still unaware of the Nightingales' plans and eating their breakfasts that Saturday morning, the headmistress nodded towards the Slytherin table. Santana got up from her seat and began walking to the front. Surreptitiously, Mercedes got up as well.

Santana got to the centre, garnering attention already. She smiled and said, "Attention Hogwarts! I've got an announcement to make, so listen up." The clatter and chatter of the hall fell to a hush with a bit of help from choir members scattered throughout houses. "Thank you," Santana continued. "Now, you all know it's Valentine's Day next week so the Nightingales decided to have a little fundraiser again. It's a little low-key, but only just a little since we don't do anything half-arsed." She earned a look of disapproval from the teachers behind her and some chuckles from the younger students before she went on. "For the next week starting tomorrow to Saturday, we'll be taking serenade requests. Have members of the choir sing to your Valentine for the smallest price of one Galleon per song, special requests will be extra." The students were already talking. "Hey! I'm not done. Anyway, anonymous requests are fine. Our captains will be the ones handling the requests, so come to them if you want us to sing. Please no break up requests even if that would be _hilarious_. Thank y –"

"_There's a boy I know_. _He's the one I dream of_…" A voice began at the back of the Hall. Everyone's heads swivelled to the direction and they saw Mercedes smiling as she sang. Everyone stayed silent and every sound was hushed by a nearby Nightingale. She moved forward and Santana began singing as well, blending her voice seamlessly with the other Slytherin, making the students turn their attention back to her. From the Hufflepuff table, Derek began to grin as he looked around at the excited faces of his fellow students.

From the Gryffindor table, someone started harmonizing, earning a few surprised glances from the people around him. Kurt stood up and Evan gave him a hearty pat on the back, which nearly made him lose his place in the song. Another voice shot up from the other side of the Hall and a tiny Slytherin stood up from her bench.

The students went into mild applause as the four students started to walk towards each other at the centre where Santana stood. Their voices grabbed attention – hypnotizing and lovely. The rawness of just the four voices echoing in the four walls made people shiver, chills running through them to the very ends of their hair. Each of them had a different voice, a different quality. And they manage to work together so effortlessly, as if this whole thing wasn't rehearsed (and it barely was).

Standing together, they seemed a lot more powerful with their voices so close to each other, more unified, like their voices were coming from one body. Someone whistled from the back when they reached the climax of the song and the crowd began to cheer, following the whistler's lead. The four singers up front soaked it all in, grinning as they sang. They liked having their glorious talents being appreciated by their peers so openly. They looked at each other with an understanding that they captivated the crowd together. That even though sometimes they drove each other mad, they had this one thing in common. These feelings of pride bubbled out as they hit the last note and the whole of Hogwarts stood up and clapped for them. The four of them bowed at the same time, rehearsed.

"Happy Valentine's Week, one and all!" Rachel announced. "Our captains will be taking requests as soon as we finish the rest of our breakfast."

* * *

><p>"That was so wicked!" Brittany squealed, hugging Kurt and Rachel tight when the students began walking out after breakfast. "<em>Everyone<em> is talking about it!" The two friends were well aware of that, having gotten a couple of compliments from students who they've never talked to. This made their day so much sunnier than it already was.

"Yeah!" Derek agreed, walking towards them, waving around a few parchment pieces. "I've already got three requests as well as two anonymous ones. Mostly from girls but I got a guy in here somewhere." He gave them an open mouthed grin, showing the galleons he got with unabashed excitement. "Great job, the four of you! Now if you will excuse me, I'll be passing these requests around." He looked at Kurt meaningfully. "You should too."

Kurt laughed. "That I should. I'll see you four later at Honeydukes for Sofie's birthday surprise?"

"Aw, Kurt, now you've ruined it for her." Sofie said theatrically, pouting at first then smirking. Kurt scrunched his face and patted her shoulder before walking towards a group of Gryffindor boys looking nervous and slightly embarrassed. "Well, we still have some time to kill before –"

"Kill?"

"It's a figure of speech, Brit."

"– before we get to Hogsmeade, what shall we do?"

Sofia Salvadair was never one for extravagant birthdays. So she was born on a certain day on February, a million other people in the world must've been celebrating the same thing with her. It was just a waste of effort and money, but that didn't mean she would treat her friends to a mini-candy spree at Honeydukes. And that didn't mean her friends couldn't get her cake if they so pleased.

The Three Broomsticks had a corner for Sofie's birthday, as well as unlimited Butterbeer for the birthday girl as a gift from Madam Rosmerta. A few friends littered that corner, ordering food, joking around, and drooling over the cake (which was taken from the kitchens by Brittany and Reed. Which, also, cannot be eaten until everyone – Derek and Kurt – were here). The cake was a marshmallow filled red velvet eagle, a secret request fulfilled by the kind house elves. It had its beak open and its wings spread like it was about to take flight. Every detail was taken into consideration, right from the curl of its talons to its individual feathers. It made them feel like if they turned their backs on it, it would've flown off with the marshmallow filling still inside it.

Brittany stabbed it on the back with a couple of candles. She would've been more upset if she wasn't there when they filled it with the white fluff. It was still upsetting because they forgot to put candle holes on it so they had to _make _the holes happen. But Rachel reminded her that they were going to eat the whole thing anyway.

The two Nightingale captains were taking too long and Sofie grew hungry for the cake. "Screw it," she said, standing up, "sing happy birthday, let us eat cake!" Her friends cheered and began singing the song for their friend. Brittany lit up the candle with her wand as she sang along. The candles sparkled under the wand and she squealed, finding it completely amusing.

The door flew open, Kurt and Derek walked into the room, singing a different rendition of the universal song with a few younger Nightingales in tow. Reed, Brittany, and Rachel walked forward as the song slowly turned into a group cover of one of Sofie's favourite songs. Sofie nearly cried (and she never cried in public). She threw her hand over his face, laughing, a little embarrassed that her friends probably used their captain status to have their younger members sing for her. They didn't mind, performing was something they wanted to do – the reason why they joined the choir.

After the song, Sofie's friends grabbed her friends into a hug and when they released her, Derek announced, "Happy birthday, bitch! Now blow your candles down." She leaned down, tucking her now long hair back so she wouldn't ruin the icing and blew. Her friends cheered.

"Took you long enough." She said to Kurt and Derek, punching both their arms. "Let's eat some cake!"

"CAKE!" They agreed.

The door opened again right as the first slices were being made. Sofie gave her plate to the nearest person, Reed, and skipped towards her cousin Quinn. "You are late! You missed the singing of the national anthem of the day." She grinned as they hugged tightly.

"Sorry!" She said, pulling away from Sofie. "The Quidditch meeting got a little out of sorts – Logan had a bitch fit."

"Hot." Sofie commented with a suggestive grin and Quinn nudged her harshly, making her laugh. She then urged her cousin towards the corner where her friends were devouring the cake. "Eat some cake! And I don't want to hear any of this dieting shit."

Quinn laughed. "Fine." She pulled a small black box from her coat and presented it to her cousin. "Here, for you. Happy birthday!"

"Aw, Quinn!" Sofie took the box and opened it. Inside a pair of teardrop, crystal earrings laid. They glistened in the diffused light and when she stared longer, she noticed something swirling inside the crystals. Like a potion of sorts. She looked up at Quinn inquisitively and she leaned forward to answer.

"I know they may look plain." She started. "And I know they're not your style but they're special. They're charmed to help you cheat on one question in an exam. You can only use it once but it can answer anything. An essay. A hands-on thing. Anything. Just give one of them two light flicks and ask what you want it to answer. Virtually undetectable." She said proudly, leaning up again so no one would get too suspicious. "Got me through my Defence O.W.L.'s with an Exceeds Expectations."

"Shut up! Really?!" Sofie hissed, regarding the earrings with a newfound reverence. "_Bloody hell_, thank you, Quinn!" She exclaimed her cousin tightly. "It's just what I needed! I've been freaking out over the exams for months!"

"Use it wisely." Quinn said. "Now, where's that cake?" The cousins giggled and Sofie brought her to the half-eaten but still standing cake.

* * *

><p>What was it about Valentine's that sparked everyone's attention to their loved one when they could do it every day of the year? It was a commercial holiday with barely anything real to tie it down to. Someone named Valentine died or something? Who really knew who he was? (History of Magic professor, Jocy Weadell, would explain that one and by the end of the week, all her students would know – as well as the history of the love potion. amortentia.) What connection does it have to paper hearts, withering roses, and chocolate? Yet everyone seemed to jump in on it – singing songs, giving gifts, kissing, having sex. What made the fourteenth of February so special? Why just make one day special?<p>

It's a reminder. It's a day for everyone to wake up and realize – wonder – whether or not their special someone had been feeling that warm, fuzzy-butterfly-in-stomach feeling lately. It's a day that made one ponder if they should tell you how they feel. It's a day to stir up memories from the past, hopes for the future – a future with someone, be it friends, relatives, or lovers. Whenever it's Valentine's, even if one would think it's bogus – stupid, dumb, idiotic, wasteful – it would still make them think. Make them remember. Everyone's celebrating it, reminding everyone else of love no matter how vomit-inducing it may be.

Music was a beautiful way to show someone you love them, which is why the Nightingales were successful in their Valentine's Week endeavour. Teenagers were particularly extravagant at these times and songs were sung at every part of the grounds. Derek and Kurt watched as if on a balcony looking over their kingdom of music and love, proud that their idea grew into something close to mass hysteria (but in a good way). Bursting into random love songs made them feel like they were in a musical. They wanted to laugh, to call the Nightingales their minions whilst rubbing their hands together.

Derek and Kurt watched with great approval with every song and dance number the Nightingales cooked up in pairs, in groups, and in solo. Girls blushed red. Boys teased each other (and blushed red). They felt like they achieved something better than a silly first place trophy.

Derek was particularly sad that the week was ending. Not only because he hadn't gotten anything from anyone except his friends, but because he was going to miss it for one whole year. He was distracted that day, thinking about books and Micah (which went so well together, and he was sitting right behind him – _God, he has such a beautiful head_) and the dance he was co-choreographing for the final number for Valentine's that year. He'd only vaguely heard the bell ring and Professor Button giving them their Transfiguration homework – he didn't even groan with the rest of the class. As he turned to stand out of his desk, Brittany and Tina stood in front of him.

"Hi?" He wondered what this was all about.

The two girls looked at each other and grinned, then turned their heads towards the door. Derek followed their gaze to meet a few Gryffindors and a Slytherin standing at the door with matching grins. Then he realized what was happening, turning as red as his face could possibly get. Reed patted his back, giddy, right as the music swelled into the room, Kurt at the helm of the instruments. "Valentine's Song for Derek Breaker from –" Kurt cut himself off, winking at his friend.

The Tweedles entered, holding Rachel's hands as they sang the first notes of the song. Tina, Brittany, and Reed joined in. All around their classmates were staying instead of leaving. What was worse, it was one of his favourite songs of all times. And then Brittany started singing.

_Tell me what - what have I gotta do__  
><em>_Cos I wanna lay a claim on you_

She pulled Derek out of his seat and pressed a finger on his chest, making him laugh. The suddenness and ludicrousness of it all made him forget about questioning _who_ sent the song.

_To make you mine - for now and for all time__  
><em>_So tell me baby what I gotta do_

The other singers, except Kurt who stayed at the door with his wand out to keep the instruments playing (Sofie was taking pictures with her camera right beside him), sang around Derek, with insane, knowing grins. Of course they knew who sent it, they were specifically called by Kurt to sing this song.

_I know I've never felt like this before__  
><em>_You're like a drug you got me wanting more__  
><em>_I've got to let you know - I've got to let you know_

It was then, when Tina started singing the chorus that he began to wonder again who sent this and his mind immediately went to wishing that it were Hayden. Fleeting as it was, it was humiliating to even consider Hayden. He considered Micah, but he wore the same mask as everyone spectating in this spectacle. It couldn't have been him. He was just a friend.

_You're - you're my number one__  
><em>_I'd do anything for you__  
><em>_Catch the rain from the sky, even hold back the tide for you__  
><em>_Baby baby, you're_

It was betrayal, in-your-face betrayal, Derek decided, when they started dancing a proper, choreographed dance after they'd moved the teacher's desk, giving them enough space front and centre. They hid this from him, the practice, the knowledge of someone sending this to him, and the song choice. Not even Rachel, who was pleasantly taking back-up, whose mouth was as big as her talent, _kept this from him_. And Reed! His oldest friend! Singing with them with a mocking smirk. He would get righteously angry if he wasn't melting on his desk.

_you're my number one__  
><em>_With you I know I belong__  
><em>_I put the radio on and it's always playing our song_

They reached the bridge, the part of the song that builds up to the last chorus. The audience began clapping to the beat and Derek wasn't sure if he wanted to hide or wanted to clap with them. It was a very awkward situation to be put in, he realized, like being sung happy birthday to. He chose to continue to blush, tucking his legs against his chest, grinning like a loon as his friends sang.

_And there ain't nothing I won't do__  
><em>_I'd walk on water just to be with you__OH! Baby baby, you're -_

Then a cheer rippled through the crowd and the group pointed at something behind Derek, their energy increasing tenfold. Goosebumps appeared on his skin and he shivered as he slowly turned while the group sashayed to the person (at least that's what the context clues – the cheers, the squeals, the dancing towards somewhere else – were telling him) who gave him this Valentine song.

_you're my number one__  
><em>_I'd do anything for you__  
><em>_Catch the rain from the sky, even hold back the tide for you__  
><em>_Baby baby, you're -_

The group stood around him, him, holding a bunch of daisies in one hand with a coy grin on his face. Sofie laughed and scuttled over to take the picture. Derek nearly fell off his seat, a wave of emotion drowning him, pulling him under as they group urged the boy over. Micah. Micah! He knew it and didn't know it at the same time. His mind flashbacked to a conversation about a Muggle group he adored, Micah was there, Micah laughed with him. He didn't know this song was going to be used against him.

_you're my number one  
>With you I know I belong<br>I put the radio on and it's always playing our song_

They were pushed together. The group, his traitorous friends, pushing and pulling Micah across the room and towards Derek, the crowd cheered and teased and whistled. The two boys blushed, Micah handing the daisies towards Derek and he took them, burying his face in them because _people were watching_. As the song pattered to an end, the group danced around the couple once before prancing away to the door, with applause from their peers. When the music faded, people began cheering for Micah to "kiss Derek, Micah!" and to "Do it, mate! Do it!" But Micah extended his hand and his friend-turned-something-else threaded their fingers together. Micah smiled and pulled him out of the room so they could talk, have a proper talk about all of this. Derek was busy grinning and thinking about _how we're holding hands oh my God _to be more than vaguely aware that he was being taken away.

* * *

><p>Down the corridor, Brittany hoisted herself up an arch and watched them walk off. Sofie sighed. Tina thanked everyone who was complimenting her for the song. The twins were somewhere else harassing a student. Reed talked to Kurt about the look on Derek's face as he himself was stared at by a lone Gryffindor with curly hair from afar. "Okay, so, can this day get any sappier?" Sofie asked.<p>

Someone cleared their throat and when they turned to the sound, a unified gasp came from them. Sofie immediately felt like she was going to vomit then faint. She leaned on the wall for support not expecting a gorgeous, young French boy holding a box of chocolates standing in front of them in plain violet robes instead of his blue Beauxbatons ones. "Elias?" She choked out. The boy grinned brightly and walked towards her.

Apparently this day _can _get sappier.

Her friends drifted away (more like _abandoned_ Sofie to fend for herself), waving at Elias. Sofie shot them a wide eyed look, powerfully resisting the urge to give them the finger. They all formed heart shapes with their hands and pranced away. "Bonjour, Sofie." Elias said, stopping in front of her. _How dare he still have that accent! _Her short circuited, irrational mind demanded within.

"Hi." _He has chocolate._

* * *

><p>Along the bend of the corridor, Rachel peeked, giggling. "Oh my God!" She squealed, stamping her feet. "My butterflies are getting <em>butterflies<em>!"

"Where?" Brittany asked. Everyone just ignored her and moved on.

"I can't believe Elias came here for _Valentine's_! Oh, the French men _know_ how to treat a lady!" Rachel sighed, leaning against the stone wall with a hand on her heart. Her eyes were miles away, fantasizing about a boy (who may or may not look like the Gryffindor-Prefect-With-A-Mohawk-Who-Must-Not-Be-N amed) serenading her on top of the Eiffel tower as they slow danced on top of the rose petals he placed on the floor, which she then quickly smothered and substituted with someone else. The first situation was deemed horrendously impossible.

Kurt snapped a finger in front of her and she blinked back to reality. "There we go. Hi, welcome back." Rachel rolled her eyes and turned again to watch Sofie and Elias walk away. "Safe to say," Kurt said, his head above hers, "we can leave the premises without waiting for Sofie to faint."

"Oh, I want to follow them!" Rachel squealed.

"Why have someone else's romance when you have mine, sweetheart?" The group turned around and Rachel let out an exasperated sigh, blowing her hair right off her face. Puck smirked at the reaction and stepped closer, Brittany, Kurt, Reed, and Tina backing away slowly. "You shouldn't be alone for Valentine's, not when you have me." The prefect said.

"I have my friends, Noah." Rachel retorted, glaring at Reed who was unfortunate enough to be the only one in her line of vision after Puck had blocked most of her view with his body. Reed scurried away with the rest of them. Rachel now knew what Sofie felt.

"One does not have to be French to treat his lady right, if I do say so myself. Ask anyone, they know I'm awesome. Brilliant, even." Puck continued, brushing his finger against her cheek. She ignored the quiver of her legs and the way her body was telling her she wanted him. She couldn't – shouldn't!

"I'm well aware of your _stellar_ reputation." She lifted a finger and pushed Puck's hand away. "And, as I've reiterated to you time and time again, I don't want to be a piece of that puzzle. Girls, and maybe some boys, dream of the night you bed them, be one of the notches of your bed – and yes, I heard that you actually notch your bed posts – or have you sweep them off their feet without even bothering to catch them. I don't see the appeal of being with someone who won't think you matter to them after you've had your way with them. I'm sure, _positive_, that all the reports are true. But I don't want any of it. I don't want any of you." _No matter how much I want you. _She added in her head.

Puck looked like he'd been kicked in the stomach. His eyebrows were up his forehead and his lips parted, wanting to say something but found that he couldn't, not after being continuously interrupted. In his defence, Rachel didn't stop talking until he couldn't think of a response. She smiled tightly. "Try your luck with someone else, Noah. I'm not interested." She began to walk away when he turned around.

"What'll make you interested?" He asked, shocking her in place. What made her so special from the rest to garner this much attention to one of the school's most notorious playboys?

"If you're actually asking that question, then I think you're losing your touch." Her smile was biting and expressed annoyance instead of actual joy. Then she walked away. He stood there for a moment, watching her walking off, and then he walked the opposite way.

* * *

><p>It'd been a long time since Derek was kissed on the lips. He wasn't sure if he was doing it right.<br>He felt as though he'd truly forgotten how to snog, but Micah took the lead. There, in a cold, dark corridor where students were least likely to visit in this weather, they had warm air surrounding them. The daisies were safely propped against the wall, not wilting just yet as long as the potion Micah concocted held up through spring like they promised. They were careful not to step on the flowers.

Micah had his arms around Derek's waist, his fist bunching around the fabric of his robe. The other boy's fingers rested on his shoulders to keep himself from falling over. There was something about kissing that made him dizzy and disoriented on his feet. He'd much rather be lying down but neither of them could bring each other to their houses. (At least, not right now.) And as the kiss escalated to new heat, when one's tongue brushed against the other's in the first tentative step towards a proper snog, Micah gently pressed Derek against the wall. Their lips separated to catch a bit of breath. A moment later, the taller boy touched Derek's cheek, tilting his face up to pressed their lips together in a kiss of lingering desire. "You have no idea how long I waited to do that." Micah whispered. Though the corridor was empty, there was barely an echo.

Derek chuckled, breaking the silence they maintained for several minutes. He curled his lips inward, slightly embarrassed by the sound he made. Micah kept on smiling. "Me too… I've always wondered what it would feel like…kissing you." He couldn't possibly blush any brighter. He was convinced that all the blood he had was flooding into his face.

"Daydreaming about it? Staring at my lips while I'm not looking?" Micah skimmed their contiguous lips together as they spoke, humming at the end of the sentence. "I do that too."

"Now we don't have to daydream." Derek continued, covering Micah's shoulders with his arms. Micah arms tightened around his new boyfriend. "Yay."

"Yeah." He agreed.

They weren't the only ones experiencing the overflowing love after that day's performance. In fact, there were students doing far worse things that night than kissing in a corridor. As Derek and Micah snogged their way into a late supper, the Great Hall was alive with the Valentine joy the Nightingales seemed to spread. The Nightingales were proud of themselves, seeing that they're practically swimming in money and love birds were making love through every possible medium – spells, eyes, touching – they could manage in a public place. The braver ones stole kisses from each other but even the staff were immersed in the students' fun that they just let it slide like every other holiday.

It was the perfect time to say love was in the air, because at that point, it seemed like love took on a more concrete form. The aroma of different bouquets mixing together, the boxes of chocolates distributed among the friends of helpless lovesick boys and girls. The ones who were rejected or heartbroken stayed out of the room, unable to take on everyone's camaraderie – a truly sad vision to see walking past you in the corridor.

"Another one bites the dust." Sofie commented as boy number five left the Hall with a sour expression on his face, looking like he wanted to hex a hole in a wall. She waited for girl number eleven. Despite himself, Elias chuckled, as he charmed another morsel onto their levitating plate. They already finished eating the chocolates Elias brought and Sofie could feel the sugar keeping her up on her legs no matter how gelatinous they felt. Elias may have found her slight cynicism amusing but it was the only thing keeping them apart.

"What are you thinking about?" _Right now? Your annoyingly gorgeous accent. _Sofie cut up a piece of beef on the plate, unsure how to lie to that.

"Why are you here, Elias?" She asked after swallowing the food.

"Because I wanted to spend Valentine's with you." Elias answered, not missing a beat. On the inside, Sofie saw herself throwing herself down on the floor, twitching and screaming, like she was set on fire – and she was. She stood there, clutching the knife in her hand, keeping herself from doing what her imagination and body demanded her to do. Her lack of reply made him anxious, so he continued, not wanting the silence to go on too long. (Sofie didn't notice the pause, her emotions were having a riot.) "I know we…are not a couple, but I wanted to see you on zis day. Valentine's is a special time for me and now that I am able to apparate to Hogsmeade, I thought maybe I would surprise you."

"Elias," Sofie began with a sigh. "This is very, very lovely of you. I really appreciate it. But now's still not the time for me to have a serious, committed relationship, yeah? I can_not _imagine myself –" She cut off, a little frustrated. She hated herself, not being _normal_ like the rest of her friends. And truthfully, she found herself insane for not grabbing this perfect specimen of French genes. There was just something inside of her that screamed that she couldn't do it. She couldn't be in a relationship. Her brain rejected the idea. She didn't even think she was going to be a good girlfriend. She couldn't fathom the duties she'd have to take up _if_ she and Elias were to be an item. "I'm sorry." Her grimace made it clear that she did not like having this conversation again.

Elias held Sofie's hand and her heart began to beat hard against her chest. She looked up at him, hoping he wouldn't see her blush this hard (he saw). "I say again, Sofie, I understand. I know you are not ready. But know zis," he leaned closer, "I am a very patient man and I will wait for ze day zat you are ready and I will be zere."

Sofie took a step back but their hands were still linked together firmly. "What makes you so certain that I will _ever_ be ready? What makes you want to wait for me?" She asked before she could even process the thought in her mind. Never in her life has she wanted Hogwarts to come alive and swallow her whole _this much_. But Elias let out a light laugh, a good sign.

"Faith in ze promise of love, _cherie_." A big, cheesy grin appeared on his face and Sofie didn't know whether she wanted to vomit or swoon. Then again, being dizzy was almost always a prerequisite to vomiting.

"Don't even try kissing me again without my permission, LeNendre." Sofie retorted and Elias laughed heartily. He raised his hands in defeat and Sofie rolled her eyes.

"Once was enough, my little Ravenclaw." He agreed with a wink.

"My Lovegood, you're annoying." She poked his shoulder, urging him out of the castle. It hurt. "Time for you to go back to Beauxbatons, it's getting late and it's a long walk back to Hogsmeade. I'll walk you to the gates." Elias checked his watch and relented, he got his afternoon with Sofie, and it was better than he'd expected. With a flick of his wand, the plate, utensils, and food disappeared, back to the Hall most likely. Sofie walked beside him, matching his pace. It was quiet for a few seconds before she started asking about study tips for O.W.L.s.

* * *

><p>Derek crawled back into Hufflepuff house dragging the bouquet, contently tired. When he stood up, he met the grinning face of Brittany and his roommates, Terry, Cody, and Justin. The blush never left his face, Micah left it there when they kissed goodnight, however, he felt a new sort of blush creeping it. They kept grinning at him and the expectation to <em>spill<em> made Derek was unsure if he wanted to tell his friends about him _snogging _his boyfriend. "I'm not telling."

The boys and Brittany groaned, as if the denial of that mundane piece of information was excruciating and if Derek didn't divulge it right away, they were going to die. Derek scoffed and walked towards the boys' dormitory. "Derek _pleaaaaase_." Brittany whined. "I tell you about everything _I _do!"

"Wait…she does?" Justin stopped, mind racing.

"Justin," Derek shook his head, "no."

"But –"

"Britt, I love you and your sex life is wonderful." He held his best friend's hands in his. In his peripheral, his blond roommates seemed like to be having a twitching problem. "But can't it wait until tomorrow? I don't want to keep repeating it and I'm sure everyone else is going to want to do _this_," he gestured between the two of them, "again over breakfast."

"_Fiiiine_." Brittany huffed and ruffled his dark hair. "I'll see you in the morning and I want details, every last bit of it!" With that, she skipped to her room.

"…So when she says that you know everything she…erm…does." Cody came forward when Brittany was out of earshot. "Is it true that she did it with Erin Delany?" Derek gave his roommate a long, hard look and rolled his eyes while he scoffed. He turned on his heel and walked away. His three roommates scrambled after him. "It was a legitimate question! I thought we had something special, Dere! We're roommates! We share a room!"

"I'm not at liberty to spill to _you_." He announced, not bothering to look back.

* * *

><p>After the third Ravenclaw got the riddle wrong, Sofie walked up to the knocker and threw out an answer out of pure frustration, not giving it much thought. "Fair answer." It said, unlocking itself. She looked at her fellow-Claws and she was sure they were thinking what she was thinking: the knocker sounded a tad bit miffed when she growled her answer out. "I guess it wasn't a very Ravenclaw thing to do." One meekly commented as they entered. Sofie narrowed her eyes at the first year and he scurried away. It reminded her of Reed all those years ago.<p>

_Speak of the devil_. Reed was standing from one of the plush couches in front of the fire. He smiled, beckoning her over. It was nice to have some peace and quiet when all everyone she knew wanted to talk about was Elias from Beauxbatons. Before she could get there, she was grabbed by the elbow as well as shoved on the shoulder by two – no, _three_ – giggling bodies. "Spill." Quinn demanded. Her roommates nodded.

"Get off of me?" She asked, raising her hands. "My Potter, don't violate me, you just needed to ask!"

"Sorry." The girls chorused and then brought Sofie to the seats, taking over the warmth of the fireplace. Reed had hot chocolate waiting for them, a growing tradition whenever either of them didn't come to the tower at the same time. He moved from the couch to one of the plush chairs on the left while he gave Sofie her mug. She smiled up at him and they touched their drinks together in a muted clack. She began her story. He listened like the others when he curled up on the blue and bronze furniture. He was going to help tell this story a second time the next day.

* * *

><p>Rachel had just stopped talking to one Hufflepuff Nightingale who was still getting used to being a Nightingale and was heading down to the dungeons alone. The older singer knew her name to be Marley, a third year with astounding potential. If anyone were to take her spot, it was going to be <em>this <em>girl. If only she worked on her self-confidence for a bit. Other than her beautiful audition, she'd barely sung much lead. Rachel was going to have to work on that one. (In all honesty, Rachel was glad that Marley didn't want to come out of her shell just yet – that would mean she had time in the spotlight. Rachel justified this line of thinking with the fact that she could've done so much more to keep Marley down.)

She still found going down to Slytherin a little chilling, no matter what time of day. A large majority of her fellow-Slyths got over it after a couple of months during first year – it was their home for most of the year, who wouldn't get used to it? But Rachel, after five years going back and forth, in a rush or not, she felt her skin crawl or jump every time a drop of water hit the stone floor. But she got used to their House ghost. When the Bloody Baron appeared, she'd looked pass him. Sometimes, they would strike up light conversation. The ghost was less menacing when they started talking. As a matter of fact, Rachel found him in need of a friend.

The Baron wasn't there that night, however. It was her and the echoes of her footsteps. But when she passed the bend, she felt something off with the environment. She could sense something looking at her and she swore she could hear a mumble that permeated her aloneness, though she couldn't be sure with her footsteps keeping her company. Then in her periphery, she _thought_ she saw something. Her body betrayed her fear but her mind was frantic to calm her down.

"Hello?" Rachel's wavering voice carried down the corridor. "Baron?" She called after a pause, turning and seeing only the empty corridor she passed and the moist walls. Taking a deep breath, she told herself to calm down, that it was nothing. She began to walk again, almost passing through a ghost who was floating behind her. She screamed and the ghost snorted into a giggling fit. "Myrtle!" The usually sad ghost who haunted the girls' lavatory in the second floor was cackling, finding amusement in the girl's paled face – it reminded her of her face before she died and she found a bit of morbid joy in it.

Myrtle floated to a horizontal position and hovered beside Rachel who shook her head and continued walking back to Slytherin. "Gave the poor Slytherin a fright? Not used to going to your house?" She teased, running a ghostly hand almost through Rachel's cheek.

"What are _you_ doing here, Myrtle? Don't you have a bathroom to flood?" Rachel retorted in irritation. The _ghost_ huffed, flying over the short witch.

"I was visiting the Giant Squid for a moment, agreeing that the batches of students coming here are getting rowdier and rowdier." She mused in a soft, despondent tone, a tone Rachel was more accustomed with. "And after we were done, I floated through Slytherin and managed to scare a boy and a girl who were in a –" She began to smirk knowingly and Rachel didn't want to think about who they were. "_Position._"

"Are you getting to a point here?"

Myrtle continued to glide through the air, ignoring Rachel's comment. "As I was flying through the dungeons after making fun of their ruined moment, I found _someone_ waiting in an empty corridor. He was rehearsing a –"

"Alright, Moaning Myrtle," Rachel jumped again, her heart racing. She clutched her chest and her scream pierced the air as she took out her wand. Puck raised his arms in the air, meaning no harm. In front of him was an acoustic guitar that had a shiny finish to it – clearly a well-loved instrument. "Fuck off. I can take it from here." The ghost sneered at the boy disappeared through the nearest wall. Rachel lowered her wand. Puck licked his lips and ran a hand through his hair. Rachel stayed in place, unsure of what to do. If he didn't have the guitar strapped to him, she would've just walked away thinking he was screwing some girl in the dungeons, but he did and she didn't know he had a guitar.

Just as she was about to ask him why he was here, Puck sighed and faced Rachel again, hitching the instrument into a more suitable position and he played with a couple of notes before starting a song. Rachel, stunned that Puck actually knew what he was doing, stayed in place. The things she said to him earlier today ringing back to her. He wasn't flirting with her, he wasn't cornering her and pressing his lips against her neck, he didn't even bring roses or chocolate (she thought he was clueless)! He played her a song. And he was _good_.

_Desperate for changing_

_Starving for truth _

_I'm closer to where I started _

_Chasing after you _

Rachel didn't want to move. His voice captivated her from the first note and it made her blood turn cold and hot at the same time – she didn't want this and she wanted this so badly. He even seemed just as unsure as she was, standing there with his guitar and singing in the dungeons. She questioned everything. Was he _this_ desperate to get into her underwear? Or was this real? To stop her fingers from shaking, she closed her arms over her chest.

_I'm falling even more in love with you _

_Letting go of all I've held onto _

_I'm standing here until you make me move _

_I'm hanging by a moment here with you_

Puck moved closer and Rachel gasped through her nose. He smiled as her eyes widened. It wasn't even the patented malicious, triumphant smile she'd always found herself rolling her eyes too. It felt sincere. The most sincere thing she's ever seen him do (to anyone other than his owl, Rosie). In Rachel's head, she screamed that it was a trap. It was some ploy to get her to take off her skirt, or something! (As a matter of fact, she partially felt like doing so.) However, a song like this – the guitar, the raw, steady, and beguiling voice, the little glimmer in his eyes whenever she started to smile – couldn't be used for something superficial.

_I'm living for the only thing I know _

_I'm running and not quite sure where to go _

_And I don't know what I'm diving into _

_Just hanging by a moment here with you_

Puck finished the song with a little less flash than he thought possible. He was already in a cold dungeon with a crummy guitar and barely any practice. Disappointed, he slumped his shoulders, wishing he could've done better. He knew he could but he did this purely out of impulse, from sitting in the common room snapping at anyone who crossed his path to shooing Moaning Myrtle from the corner where he was hiding in. Then, Puck picked himself up and drew in a deep breath. It was a good sign Rachel hadn't started talking yet. "Look," he started, "I'm not… _in love_ with you or something stupid like that…" He teetered on the balls of his feet, shoving his hands into his pockets. "The song was just off the top of my head and I just tuned this guitar to the song like…a half hour…for that song because it was off the top of my head… Bloody – okay, point is, I think you're sexy, I'm sexy, we're both Jews, it's perfect! Go out on a date with me… please!"

The speech could use a little work, Rachel admitted to herself. The look on his face told her that he was thinking the same thing and was a little ashamed of it. He wasn't backing off until he got an answer, that's for sure. She weighed he options quickly, Puck didn't look patient. First off, she'd wanted this for a while now. He was a guilty pleasure she'd let herself have whenever she was feeling down on herself or when she was feeling lonely at night, thinking about how her friends were getting on with their love lives just fine (except maybe Kurt. Reed wasn't included because he never liked anyone ever). _Then again_ he could just one day dump her for someone with a bit more chest and a little less mouth (and nose). _However_, he did just call her sexy. She didn't think anyone of the opposite sex would call her that in her life time or in real life. _But_, he could grow tired of her. She already riled up most of her choirmates with her personality, what would make Puck any different? _On the other hand_, Puck promised a good time and if he did want to date her, and if technically she'll be a future notch in his bed, at least he was being honest about wanting to date her. _He even said please. I don't think I've ever heard him say please. _

"You pick _this_ time to stop talki –"

"I was _thinking_ about it." Rachel interrupted.

"It's not a no?" Puck smirked, taking hold of his guitar, thanking it silently because he knew it was his ticket to this annoying, little Slytherin girl that somehow crept up on his insides and made her different from most girls.

Rachel rolled he eyes but then smiled at the end of it. "It's not a no." A grin appeared on his face, she giggled and couldn't believe she was actually going to go out with Noah Puckerman, someone she _swore_ she wouldn't touch with a long, long stick but so _longed_ to be held in those lovely arms he constantly showed off. "Don't look so smug about it." She muttered, continuing her route to Slytherin.

Puck followed. "Aren't I allowed when I've just bagged the hottest girl in the castle?"

"I'm not the hottest girl in school, let's be honest." Rachel giggled, her insides effervescing against her skin.

"I am being honest." He winked and started playing a happy tune he didn't know the lyrics to but Rachel certainly did. Her face was hot, her heart was beating fast, she still couldn't believe this had happened and that she agreed to a date with the resident playboy. Yet, her she was, singing a song as he played the guitar, walking back to her house.

* * *

><p>The Hogwarts library was cramped with students. A beautiful afternoon was wasted in preparation of the upcoming exams. The fifth years filled what used to be a place where there was a lot of leg space, clearly feeling the pressure of their future bearing down on them. The library was stuffed, messy, and almost actually noisy with the amount of students trying to get their work done. The same was to be said with the common rooms and dorm rooms. Parchment, ink bottles, and books lined every possible surface, usually with a student on the verge of a breakdown. Reality was setting in. What they wanted to be weighed on the grades. To those who had plans to explore the world, to go about their lives forever young at heart, they barely picked up a book. To those who knew what they wanted to be focused on the subjects in their desired field, pouring all of their efforts to those they deemed relevant. To those whose parents had expectations – expectations that were explicit and specific, expectations that were uncovered by saccharine deception (or those that were) – strived to make them proud, to fit in the mould put before them. Each had their own method to dealing with stress. Each had their own style of picking up knowledge. But they were moving in one direction, which was to get through those last few months alive. None of the fifth years were feeling optimistic about it with a Potions quiz following a Transfigurations one not to mention an essay for the same subject due on the same day (to "ease up" their load) as well as a research paper for Herbology that was given to them a month before but some still had trouble finding the use of lavender with gillyweed.<p>

To top it all off, they still have to talk to their heads of house next week for career advice and even though some had no use for advice except for an objective perspective, some were desperate to hear something helpful. Anything helpful.

"I'm really not looking forward to this." Sofie announced as they exited the Great Hall after lunch. She felt her stomach aching, angry at her for stuffing it with too much food in a rush. That Defence Against the Dark Arts essay just needed to be finished. As revenge, the food made her drowsy – not a great combination with Transfiguration after she'd use up most of her energy on Care of Magical Creatures in a few minutes. _Double Transfiguration_ she reminded herself. "I don't think I can survive another hour of this day."

"But… I thought you were excited about the Threstrals." Brittany said to which Sofie gave her a tired smile.

"You and me both. I didn't even have time to fix my hair today… And I'm so disappointed with my Potions homework that I can't even summon the urge to care." Kurt agreed in a monotone. The best he could do with his hair was part it to the left instead of the new coiffed look he'd taken over the winter. It resembled his hair when he was a first to the first half of fifth year only it hung limply against his forehead, forcing him to brush it away from time to time. He didn't even _want_ to comment on the state of his face.

"My fingers feel like they're going to fall off." Derek added to the complaints bringing up the rear with Brittany and Reed, and a battalion of books hovering five feet off the ground. "I've only managed to crack the lavender-gillyweed question during lunch and I will not lug these things for the rest of the afternoon. I refuse to even look at them. I feel like I haven't stopped writing for _weeks_!"

"Can I –" Rachel began, being the only one who looked fine but her voice wasn't in shape after what seemed to be a ton of coffee she ingested at four in the morning. Her friends paused at the croaking sound she just made. They'd heard her before but it just got progressively worse as the day went. She cleared her throat, embarrassed, deciding not to continue without leaning into Derek so that no one else can hear. "Can I take a look at yours? I'm not really confident with my answer." She cringed at the sound. She couldn't even do a note higher than an G-flat. On top of that, she felt a fever coming on.

"Yeah, after you promise to go to the Hospital Wing." Derek said in a motherly tone.

Rachel pouted. "I can't be late for Divination. It's all the way on the other side of the castle."

"It's not _the other side_." Kurt rolled his eyes. "It's just halfway to the other side. There's a difference."

"Half a difference." Derek agreed. "And since when did _Kurt Hummel_ start letting skipping class pass him by without so much as a scolding?"

"If my Ancient Runes professor wasn't giving us the test of a lifetime in a few minutes, I would be upstairs, taking a long, hot shower with the necessary products keeping my skin squeaky clean and glowing while all of the other tied looking students will continue their classes in that state for the rest of this afternoon. Alas, there is a test and I will not dare miss it. I heard Professor Trelawney has you staring at a crystal orb for thirty minutes at a time so which will it be my dearest Slytherin?" She had to admit, he got her there.

"Ooh, Rachel Barbara Berry skipping class." Sofie purred as if saying it made them all dirty. For Rachel, it just became realer.

"And I'll join you. It's not like nothing's going on with Care of Magical Creatures today. What're we doing again, Brit?" Derek asked, manoeuvring the books from the path of a group of Ravenclaws who were dragging along floating books with them. His friends did the same and quickly reformed their line. "Just the Threstrals for today, yeah?"

"Just the Threstrals." She agreed. "But you should really come over even if you are late! I think it's going to be a great lesson!"

"Also," Reed interjected, "I might die if you're not there so…"

Derek laughed and patted Reed's head. "If I could see them, I figure it might be." He grabbed Rachel's arm, suddenly changing their course for the Hospital Wing. "I'll see if I can still make it! We'll probably end up talking about other things and hiding in the Room, you never know!" Rachel looked heavenward, shaking her head. It was the first time she had ever willingly cut class with a friend. The last time was with Reed and Sofie but only because they got hopelessly lost that one time during third year. The books nearly toppled over a teacher as they followed Derek down the new corridor.

"Anyone else want to go on their merry way?" Kurt asked.

"I wish but I think Hagrid would notice if all four of us were gone." Sofie said.

Reed whined. "I just want this week to be over with."

"You're not still jittery about the career advice thing, are you?" Sofie turned her head to Reed. Brittany wrapped an arm around him in a concerned gesture.

"I am and I've been trying not to think about that but I can't stop, you know?" It was impossible since it was the only thing that consumed his every conscious moment. He could never escape his mother and the plans she had for him.

"No, not really because unlike you, I've got nothing to say." Sofie replied, not in her usual biting tone. There was some dry humour in her voice but she dreaded going up to Professor Flitwick and saying "I have no idea what I want to do when I get out of Hogwarts." It wasn't an ideal everyone was striving for. She realized that's why she wasn't doing so well in some of her classes because she had nothing to motivate her. "I mean photography is a thing… But it's… I'm not really into it right now…? I don't know, maybe someday."

"That's what this is all about." Kurt paused before they got to his Ancient Runes room where a hoard of Gryffindors and Slytherins were clamouring to remember all they had learned in their past few sessions by asking everyone for their notes. His three friends looked up at him and how they looked solidified how hard these last few weeks had been. He couldn't recall the last time Brittany had their hair down, it seemed like it'd been in a ponytail for a month. "They're going to give us _advice_ and so far our teachers have our best interests at heart – save for a crazy hag of a Defence teacher, thank God she isn't a house head – I'm sure they'll say something to help us."

Sofie nodded. "I hope so. I hate not knowing what to do." She shook herself back to a happier stance. "Let's go check out some possibly dangerous invisible animals!"

"Have fun with Runes, Kurt!" Brittany chirped before skipping down the hall with Sofie and Reed trudging after her.

"She's joking, right?" One of the Slytherins commented.

* * *

><p>"Please sit, Mr. Hummel."<p>

* * *

><p>"Ms. Berry, always a pleasure to see you!"<p>

* * *

><p>"Come in! Come in! Ms. Salvadair, yes? Good. Sit! I'll fix us a nice cup."<p>

* * *

><p>"Ah, Mr. Breaker. Might I say you look positively glowing today? The ones before you looked rather beaten up if I do say so myself. Biscuit? Tea?"<p>

* * *

><p>"Yes? Oh yes! I'm sorry, Mr. Van Kamp! There was a smudge on your name. I'll make you a cup of tea. How many – look out for that –! Stack of books…"<p>

* * *

><p>"Ms. Pierce! Please sit, my dear, you look rather tired. Rough day? Biscuit? Tea?"<p>

* * *

><p>Kurt sat down on the seat Professor Button gestured to in front of her neat desk. It'd been a while since he'd been this close to the head of Gryffindor House. Leona Button was a real head-turner with her dark skin and piercing catlike eyes. He'd heard all the lewd comments boys about her and though he found them completely disrespectful and a little gross, he couldn't help but notice the appeal. He clutched on the pamphlets he held in his hands, pamphlets for careers he'd been juggling around since he got his hands on them. Should he speak first? He wondered to himself. But his Professor began speaking, answering his question. "Now, this meeting is for us to talk about your ideas of a future career and to help you choose subjects you should continue in your sixth and seventh years." Her tone was firm, no nonsense as usual. Kurt didn't think anyone even attempted to cross her, except for the Tweedles. (Sometimes he thought they only did it so they could have her attention.) "Have you given any thought on that? Your career, I mean."<p>

"Well I – yes!" Kurt cringed at the sound of his voice. He hadn't noticed he'd become nervous, something he was so sure he wasn't going to be. "Yes. I have thought about it. Given it some considerable thought, really." He placed his pamphlets on the table and he saw the professor give him a slight nod of approval.

"Would you like to share your thoughts?"

* * *

><p>In another time and another place, the Potions teacher and his Slytherin sat across each other by the fire without a desk separating them. There was a tray of sandwiches arranged into a pyramid floating in between. Professor Slughorn always kept it a complete pyramid, even if the student didn't eat anything or if they just took one or two squares. Rachel was only the slightest bit skittish upon entering but she considered the Professor an ally, mostly owing to the fact that she and most of her friends were part of the Slug Club (Brittany and Sofie are still a resentful that they weren't invited into the club to this day.) She didn't have anything nervous about, either. She had a plan. She had the drive and the talent. She knew what she wanted and what to say when her house head asked what she wanted to be.<p>

"I want nothing more to be a star, Professor Slughorn." Rachel resisted the urge to stand up and give him the whole monologue as she paced through the room and blew him away with her passion. She sat, keeping most of her emotions in. Less was more, in this situation. No one liked over acting. "I plan on auditioning for – and securing, of course – a spot in the Gravallaghan Institute for the Dramatic Arts – one of the most esteemed dramatic art schools in the Wizarding world. I need to stay in touch with my Wizarding roots while still getting the education I need to be a successful performer. From there I will then be top of every class, impressing every teacher and student with my talents and maybe even graduate early and get a lucrative job right away. Then maybe I'll move to America to further my career in Broadway!" Horace Slughorn smiled at the great ambition and great passion that exploded in this girl the moment she spoke up. Rachel continued, still having so much to talk about and he let her. After all, he was just here to listen and to give his opinion and advice when needed. He doubted she did.

* * *

><p>A different day near the end of the week, there was a question in Professor Flitwick's office.<p>

What did Sofia Salvadair want to do after she left Hogwarts?

The question plagued her for months and months ever since the end of fourth year. She vaguely remembered standing in front of her mirror and telling herself that she was going to find an answer before career advice week. Yet, here she was, staring at the sunset that was happening outside Professor Flitwick's window near the end of the week. She should really stop procrastinating. She was going to miss dinner if she kept them long enough. "Take your time." The kind professor added as the silence between them grew like the tea in front of her turned cold. Sofie weighed her choices, tell him the whole truth or tell him some of it and just not pour out everything.

Sofie sighed, turning to the Charms professor. "May I?" She pulled out her wand, indicating her lukewarm cup of tea.

"Yes."

After a quick spell, steam came floating from the liquid and Sofie brought it to her lips. "Photography used to be my thing…" She began. "Lately, I haven't felt the sort of passion I had for it like I had a year ago and the year before that." She spoke her mind but she chose her words carefully. "I've – I've looked at the pamphlets and the thing I most want is to become an Auror. It's the most exciting, for sure, and I like my life with a bit of excitement. But becoming an Auror is hard work and I know I'm not Hufflepuff enough for that." Professor Flitwick chortled at the joke, making Sofie smile. "To be perfectly honest, professor, all my friends have this idea of where they're going after Hogwarts. I don't."

* * *

><p>The room was warm and reminded him of the Hufflepuff common room from the plants that decorated the walls and the overstuffed chair he was sitting on. Derek smiled as Professor Sprout prattled about what this meeting was about as well as some anecdotes of students before him and the fact that he was the first she saw walking in with a great grin on his face. He just thanked her, taking the tea and a few cookies. He didn't want to tell her what he and Micah did in the corridors just before he went in. The memory enveloped him as soon as it wandered into his mind – hands, lips, touching, squeezing. Micah gasping for –"Mr. Breaker?"<p>

"Uh – Yes! Sorry. What were you saying?" Blood crept up his neck to his cheeks. He hoped Professor Sprout wasn't good at Legilimency.

She didn't give any indication that she knew any carnal secret – a relief, truly – smiling at the young Hufflepuff. "What are your plans after Hogwarts, my dear?"

Derek had a speech for this. He'd thought about this conversation for weeks now and had the script planned out in his head. He lost it the moment Professor Sprout asked that question, which made him drink his tea in an effort to calm himself down. "Well, I've thought about it…. And… You know how my parents have this bookstore, yeah?"

"Oh yes, I've visited the new London branch recently! Lovely place."

"I'll be sure to tell Mum that."

* * *

><p>Reed placed the ice pack against his jaw. Though he didn't need medical attention, his fall would still leave him with bruises for weeks, not to mention three paper cuts on his left hand when he tried to push himself up initially. "Do you still want tea?" Professor Flitwick asked, his wand halfway between his robes and his teapot. Reed nodded. Some tea would be nice. Perfect for calming his nerves. He didn't know what to say. And as Professor Flitwick moved, he talked. First, he apologized about skipping the boy, not noticing the cream that smudged "Van Kamp" off the list. Next, he talked about the purpose of the meeting. Hearing him talk about it, Reed could tell it was a standard thing to start with. Finally, once the tea was placed in front of him and the cubes of sugar were put in and Reed took the first sip, Professor Flitwick finished talking. "What do you think you will be doing once you leave the hallowed halls of this castle, Mr. Van Kamp?"<p>

Originally, Reed was going to talk about his mother's empire. He was going to ask about what subjects Hilde finished, what she excelled in, what magical fashion mavens had to learn to be the best that they could be. He'd been building up to it the whole week he was waiting and now it was here, now he could talk about it and learn. However, with the pressure from both school and his mother (who never seemed to stop writing him letters but never _wrote_ _back_), not to mention his wonderful trip over a pile of books and being buried by another, Reed wasn't up to adhering to his plans. "I don't know. I'd like to say fashion. My mom is all up for me to get into it. To be her rightful heir." Reed took another sip of his tea. "But that's not for me. I don't think I _want _that… I don't even think I'm good enough for it." He felt his eyes watering and he wiped it away. He didn't feel like he was good enough for _anything_ really, from the way things were going now.

Professor Flitwick didn't comment on the watering eyes and the sad air that spread through the room. He sat, with his hands folded on the table, and said, "Then what do _you_ want, Mr. Van Kamp?"

Reed looked up at the question. "Uh…"

* * *

><p>Brittany was tired. She was tired of all the books she had read and needed to read. She was tired with all her teachers and classes. She was tired of walking. She was tired of going to the bathroom every morning. She was tired of being awake. She was just <em>so tired<em>. She had her forehead on Professor Sprout's desk. She was so tired she couldn't answer the question right away. The room felt comfortable enough that she could slip into a nap if she could just… "Ms. Pierce." Professor Sprout's voice turned sharp. This meeting wasn't going to be nap time for Brittany, not on her watch.

"Present!" She shot up from the table, a red mark pressed on her forehead. Once she realized where she was again, she deflated. Her body followed the curves of the seat cushions and sighed. After sharing a second of uncomfortable eye contact with the Herbology teacher, she took a biscuit and ate it self-consciously. "Sorry."

"It's alright. I know fifth year is a hectic time but we'll just talk here. We'll talk and then you're free to go. Go to bed, Ms. Pierce. I'm giving you permission to skip your next class – Charms, yes?" She nodded to which the Herbology teacher said. "Good, I'll talk to Professor Flitwick about it. Now, your plans after Hogwarts?"

"All I've ever wanted to do is dance. So that's what I'm going to do after Hogwarts. I'm going to dance because I love to dance and I've got to dance for the rest of my life or I won't be happy." It was as simple as that for Brittany. The simplicity made Professor Sprout smile warmly.

"Alright, let's talk about how you're going to get there, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

><p>"Okay." Kurt said as he laid down the pamphlets one by one. "My first choice is the Gravallaghan Institute for the Dramatic Arts. I love performing, I love singing." He explained, though not really looking into his teacher's eyes. He could feel her look at him and it made him a little conscious about what he was doing and saying. Nonetheless, he powered through. "I'm going to set up an audition, maybe with my friend Rachel Berry. We're really excited about it and if we get in we could move in together, which'd be really fun." He placed another pamphlet on the desk. "Then there's healing. My stepmother's a healer at St. Mungo's and since healing is partly Potions oriented and I'm great at it, I'm not going to lie," he chuckled, Professor Button didn't – <em>uncomfortable! Hummel, keep talking! <em>"I'm going for that. My stepmum could help me with it along the way and you know, it could be a family thing." He kept talking and he reasoned that Professor Button was here to help him not judge him. His nervousness was unnecessary. "And Potioneering because there's a future for me there, as Professor Slughorn pointed out a few times in class, so that's a guarantee. I've also got an eye for fashion so I might do an internship if I have the time. Might… I'm not sure. My friend Reed is in that turf – if his mother would allow me to, I would but I doubt it since the great Hilde Van Kamp doesn't…" He stopped himself from talking too much. Clearly Professor Button would ask for details if she needed them. She didn't look like she needed them. "But I am setting my sights on Gravallaghan. I want to perform. I feel like that's where I belong."

Professor Button didn't move a centimetre. She absorbed the information and processed it. "You're smart, Mr. Hummel. Your plans are well-thought through and realistic. The careers you picked are in subjects you are adept in." She nodded.

"Thank you, Professor."

"You seem to know what you're capable of and that's admirable." The Professor added. "I will suggest a few things." She slid the potioneering pamphlet towards herself and opened it. "Says here you'll need at least four N.E.W.T.s and grades not under 'Exceeds Expectations' and… an 'Outstanding' on your Potions N.E.W.T.s…?"

"Not a problem, Professor." He answered.

"Might I suggest a few things, Mr. Hummel?"

"I'm open to anything that will help me, Professor."

* * *

><p>"Rachel." Professor Slughorn began, eating a sandwich for himself. "You know what I admire about you? It's your passion. Your drive. Your motivation. Your," he chuckled, "<em>ambition<em>. You know what you want and you know how to get it and you know you _can_ get it." Rachel beamed with pride, even sitting up straighter. She might not be the prettiest but Professor Slughorn was right, she _can_ get what she wanted if she really, truly wanted it. "It's like I have nothing else to say. Nothing to suggest." They shared a grin and a nod. Professor Slughorn rested comfortably against the back of his seat, considering what he should say next or if he should let Rachel go early. Then he had a thought.

"My dear, I have a question. A silly question, to be quite honest, but I was wondering. What would you do if you don't get in Gravallaghan? What happens then?"

Rachel felt her heart sink like the rejection had already happened right before her eyes. She floundered for an expression. Shock? Anger? Sadness? How should she react to the question? She didn't know what to say so to ease the silence, she ate a sandwich. She hadn't thought about it. Performing was the only thing she was so sure about. Her talent was so constant. She knew she was great and special. But what if there were people better than her? People who got into Gravallaghan _over her_? She won't accept it. "You're right, it _is_ a silly question." She muttered though she didn't mean to say it aloud. Shame grew inside of her, clamping her lips shut.

"It's alright, it's alright." Professor Slughorn said with a placating gesture. "I'm merely pointing out that a back-up plan might come in handy."

"A back up plan I don't need. Will not need." Rachel said, trying hard not to breakdown or flare up. But she noticed the sharpness of her voice. "I'm sorry I –"

"Voice it out, Ms. Berry."

Rachel had so much to voice out after that.

* * *

><p>"Might I give you some recommendations, Ms. Salvadair?" Professor Flitwick offered after Sofie had aired out her concerns as well as her strengths and weaknesses after being prompted by their House Head.<p>

_Anything would be a step up, Professor._ Instead of saying it, Sofie nodded. "Sure."

"From what I gathered from you and from your other teachers, you're a bright girl. Witty, clever, a true Ravenclaw if I do say so myself. You're above average in most of your classes, save Herbology, but that's fine, there are plenty of opportunities away from that subject." Despite herself, Sofie cracked a smile. "Plenty of students go out in the world and travel after Hogwarts before settling down for a profession. You don't have to fall into the working world right away, unlike Muggles who are expected to find a job when they're of age. You are a witch, Sofia, a great one. Don't strain yourself thinking about careers if you haven't already figured out one yet. And, if you don't mind me adding, you can take a lot of photos in the places you will travel to." Sofie hadn't thought about that one before, travelling. Professor Flitwick was right. She'd been stressing about it for no reason. She didn't _have_ to have a career. Not immediately, at least. And another brilliant idea came to mind: she could always work at Breaking Bookstore if she's low on money!

"Thank you so much, Professor." A full-fledged smile appeared on her face. Her perspective was flipped into something more optimistic. She had something to look forward to now. Gone were the fears of being left behind, of being lost and unsure. There were plans forming in her head now like where she'll get the money, where she'll travel, how _far_ she was going to travel, what she was going to do and –

"Not a problem, Ms. Salvadair." Professor Flitwick interrupted her thoughts. "Can I also suggest some subjects you need to focus on? Naturally, if you decide on a career in the future there might be a need for N.E.W.T. grades. Travelling will also need a set of skills for you to sustain yourself, especially if you're going to be hard on money." Her train of happiness had to be paused. Practicality was still an issue and Sofie, even though she'd much rather just learn how to disapparate and be done with education, decided that maybe she should finish Hogwarts before going off to the wild, wild world. "Personally, I find your Charms grades not something to worry about, you're doing quite well. I predict an 'Exceeds Expectations' in your O.W.L.s. Your Transfiguration grades however are average at best."

_Here we go._

* * *

><p>"So basically, it's that." Derek finished after a long, haphazard, semi-incoherent speech. He realized he kept backpedalling and kept forgetting some detail that wasn't important but assumed was. Professor Sprout managed to stay interested or at least <em>seem<em> interested. He drank his third cup of tea, quenching his dry mouth – always a welcome feeling after talking for too long. "Either I get into music and sing for a living or I work in my parents' bookstore. I love my parents and I love the books and the bookstores but I want to do music. Play songs. _Write _songs. Maybe even form a band with a bunch of strangers. Or Reed! You know if his mum lets him." _Doubt it._ Derek thought dejectedly. "So…yeah. The end."

"That was quite a story, Mr. Breaker." Professor Sprout huffed lightly, stretching her limbs.

Derek blushed. "Sorry, professor."

"It's quite alright, m'boy." She smiled and poured him another cup of tea. "I'm glad you have your parents to fall back into just in case your music career doesn't work out. Have you told them about your plans yet?"

"Not yet, no." Derek answered, shaking his head. "Should I?"

"You should! Better to tell them down than to pull the rug from under their feet!" She grinned and laughed heartily. It was so infectious that Derek couldn't help but smile and giggle just a little bit. When Professor Sprout sobered down, she leaned her arms on the table. "Derek, love, you're a real sweet boy. I know. The teachers know. Even Leona thinks you're a sweetheart though she doesn't really show it. And boys like you they get chewed up out there a lot of times. Do you think you can handle it?"

"I can." _Can I?_ He asked himself. He's a vulnerable and sensitive person. He was aware of that and the question lingered. But he answered that he could. He sounded so sure, why was he doubting himself now? Derek was scared. "I mean… I _can_. I will. Like I said, I'll try for two years. If I still don't get signed after that, I'll just go back home and nurse my wounds. I'll write to my friends and family. Even phone them, if possible. I really, _really, really_ want this, Professor. I will have to handle it."

Professor Sprout nodded again, satisfied with the answer. "Here's what I think you should do now. Do well in all of you classes. Important classes like Transfiguration and Charms and Defence, you should do well in those. Who knows what you'll encounter out there. Herbology, well, just keep doing what you're doing now, Mister. Doubt you'll need in-depth knowledge of magical plans in music or in bookstores." They shared a chuckle. Already, Derek was easing up from his earlier tenseness. The environment certainly helped. "And Potions… well if you think you'd need Potions then that's your decision."

"Please, Professor, I don't want to subject myself to that much torture!" Laughing right now was certainly a good sign to what was going to happen.

* * *

><p>Saturday afternoon while everyone else was away at Hogsmeade or doing their homework or something else entirely, Reed was sitting in the office of Professor Flitwick, dumbstruck, asking himself the same question over and over as the Charms professor waited for his reply.<p>

_What did _I _want?_

The question seemed so simple, so ready to answer. But it was a lie. The question ate at him and not only questioned what his plans were but questioned who he was. It _made him_ question who he was. Was he the boy to divert from his mother's assigned path or was he the boy to follow it religiously even though he didn't _completely_ want it? Was he the boy to go against his mother's wishes and risk it with something unsure? He had a pretty good idea of _who_ Reed Van Kamp is, was, and will be. _Had_. Now, one little question made it crumble, piece by piece. He could hear his mother telling him what to do, what was "right". He could feel the inadequacy creeping in on him from all sides. Was he good enough? Was he talented enough? And what about his paintings?

One question brought with it a million other questions raining down on Reed. What was right and what was wrong? Disobeying his mother was wrong but wasn't doing something because he was _forced to_ wrong as well? Didn't he owe it to his mother to carry out her wishes when she raised him mostly by herself? Then again, couldn't he just repay her with something else, by being great on a different path?

_Something else. _Reed thought. Music. And art. Music was that something else. Ever since he joined the Nightingales he'd been more attuned to music than he was before. He started playing his own notes, small pieces but still… That counted for something, right? And hadn't he and Clark talked about this? How he thought Reed should consider it now that O.W.L.s were so near? His older stepbrother was so keen about it.

Then there were his paintings. His mother sent him newspaper clippings about his work that she sold. It was the only thing he felt she was really impressed by. His fashion drawings were "average" at best. But his paintings earned rave reviews from art critics and his mum (though "rave reviews" from her were one sentence P.S.'s that said "Good work, love" or "they all adored it, darling"). Then she asked for more. Better. Bigger. Bolder. She always needed something new for a gallery and Reed couldn't say no. Not really. He could still see the concern in his friends' eyes when they caught him asleep on the Room of Requirement's floor with four differenT paintings in front of him (all of which were unfinished).

And again, it just didn't feel right. Sometimes it felt like work. Extra work for his mother.

But what did Reed Van Kamp want? What could he do? What was most appropriate? He had so many conflicting answers. So many doubts. So many insecurities.

"I…" He put down the tea, fearing for its safety as he began to tremble.

"Mr. Van Kamp?"

All these moral, personal, and existential questions came to him, begging to be answered and all he could say was…

_I don't know._

* * *

><p>"Ms. Pierce, what do you think is your best subject?" Professor Sprout asked.<p>

"Charms or Care of Magical Creatures. I'm not really sure. Hagrid and Professor Flitwick keep on reminding me that I'm doing a good job so I'm guessing I'm doing a good job like they said." Brittany supplied.

"Alright… Brittany."

"Yes?" She tried to make herself more awake, more _aware_, so she could remember. Hearing the Herbology teacher say her first name in a firm tone was the first indication that she should listen and keep this in her head.

"You're going to be a dancer and you're going to be a witch. I'm not sure where you'll pursue your dancing career but I know this, you need to learn how to survive on your own in the outside world as a full-fledged witch, understand? You just need to pass your O.W.L.s and learn as much as you can in N.E.W.T.s. How set are you becoming a dancer?"

"Pretty set." She answered. She was sure she was going to be a dancer, no more, no less. She even had a few schools in mind, but they were all Muggle schools, she didn't know any wizarding dance schools. Maybe that Gravallaghan school thing Rachel and Kurt kept talking about had some dance classes in them, maybe she could join. She began to smile, the idea of still going to the same school as Rachel and Kurt made her ten times happier and ten times more energized. The thought of going to the same school and studying dance made her career choice more and more solid.

"Then just get an 'Exceeds Expectations' for all of the subjects you'd like to take with you through your adult life this year and I believe it's just a matter of getting so good at dancing that you barely have to do anything on your audition."

"…But isn't the whole point of the audition _doing _something?"

* * *

><p>"Thank you, Professor Button. I appreciate every single second of your advice. I learned a lot."<p>

* * *

><p>"Thank you for believing in me, Professor Slughorn. And thank you for putting up with my… aggressiveness. It really means a lot."<p>

* * *

><p>"Professor Flitwick? Thank you."<p>

* * *

><p>"I promise to tell my parents when I get back home, I'll remember. Thank you…And can I have a couple more of those cookies?"<p>

* * *

><p>"I can't – I don't know… I'm not feeling so well. May I please go?"<p>

* * *

><p>"Thanks, Professor Sprout. For everything."<p>

* * *

><p>With the whole week over and the students more or less satisfied with that their House Heads imparted to them, there was still no rest for the weary, teachers and students. And Mr. Filch. There were lessons to be given and to be learned. There was homework to do and papers to check. There was a short reprieve during Sunday but even then, there was still a test the following day to study for. It made the fifth years yearn to either go back or fast forward. They're in want of something simpler and less hectic. Unfortunately, their exams, their gruesome exams, were a couple of months away and a couple of months too long. But now they had plans, ideas of what to study for – what to really study for. They had idea of what their future looked like. An idea that was somewhat realistic and somewhat practical. They still had two years to really figure it out, it didn't matter. What mattered now was that they were on a dimly lit path because of the help they'd gotten. That or they were thrust in a questioning abyss that threatened to strangle their life away.<p>

Still, they had two years to figure it. And they were always welcome to visit their Heads of House if they wanted any more advice.

Reed's head was swirling after his failed career advice meeting with Professor Flitwick. He'd insisted that he go out, that he'd think about it. So far, he hadn't done a lot of thinking, just crying. He didn't even know if he was even going to the direction of Ravenclaw house. It didn't matter now. What mattered was no one was watching and he just continued to cry his eyes out in silence and in isolation. Reed didn't ask for this. He wanted it to be easy. Do what his mother says, make her happy. But he wanted different things, so many different things that nothing felt right anymore. Like he was given a puzzle where nothing matched. He wanted to give up. Fall on the floor, melt into the stone and be one with the castle. He didn't want this agony. He didn't want any of this internal conflict.

All he wanted was for it to stop! If he wasn't such a coward! He could've – should've! – told Professor Flitwick about how he felt trapped. How he felt ungrateful every time he considered going against his mother's wishes. How he felt guilty whenever he got _mad _with her. How he needed help but didn't ask for it, perpetuating his sorrows day by day. Reed felt the disappointment welling up inside of him, torturing his soul, and wished to disappear forever.

"Reed?" A voice echoed down the hall and he hurriedly wiped at his face though that was in vain – his eyes were red and puffy; his hands, legs, and lips continued to tremble. He stopped trying to do anything after a second. His attempts were as useless as he was.

"W-Who's t-th-there?" He called back, not recognizing the voice off the bat.

"It's Micah." The voice, now closer, said. Reed wiped another film of tears away from his eyes and his vision focused on the taller Ravenclaw with gold-rimmed glasses. There was an expression of brotherly concern on his face. But he looked unsure about what he should do next. "Do you want me to call Sofie? Or your roommates? Or Derek? Your friends? Professor –"

"No. No, Micah… I'll be fine." Reed said, barely above a murmur. It wasn't exactly the most convincing state to say that he would be fine. He knew he would be, in time. Just not today. Just not right now. "Don't tell anyone, yeah? I'll tell them. I promise. I'll be fine."

"I've got to do _something_." Micah whined as quietly as he could. Reed turned his head from left to right, hoping no one would come by and see him like this. He was already tired from the week, now he was a complete mess. Micah was unfortunate enough to see him. Shame roiled within him. His best friend's boyfriend was seeing him in the most pitiful state he'd fallen – and then dug – into. It made his skin burn. Micah reached over and Reed instinctively cringed away. He kept to himself afterwards.

Reed licked his lips. "Am I even near Ravenclaw?" After a chuckle, Micah draped his arm around the shorter boy, careful not to be sudden about it, and led him to the opposite direction. Reed didn't speak. He was busy filling his mind with the promise of the comforting embrace of his bed and the bliss of unconsciousness. He didn't want to think about the fact that it was Sunday the next day; that he and his friends promised to meet at the Room of Requirement to study and talk about his meeting. They'd been hoping he'd do well. _Yet another disappointment._ He thought before smothering it what he was going to binge on the following day just to compensate for the empty feeling that was growing in his stomach. It'd be easy for some to just say they're sick or not feeling well, but putting it off would be worse.

It was only a few minutes before they arrived at the door and Micah answered the riddle without so much as a thought to it. It must've been an easy one. Reed didn't hear the question. Ravenclaw was buzzing with page ruffling and intense murmurs from various students studying on almost every inch of the common room. _Good_. Reed told himself, walking away from Micah who was swarmed by a few of their classmates. Their preoccupation with their lessons would shield him from questioning, worrying looks from his peers and will, he hoped, stop the notion of "Reed's really gutted up over something after his turn with Professor Flitwick" from getting to Sofie before he could tell her – as well as the rest of their group – what had happened.

When he reached the entrance to the boys' dormitory, Reed looked back at Micah. They caught each other's eyes and Micah nodded. His problems were closed for tonight, only to be opened again the following afternoon. A good twelve hour sleep would do him good. But Reed found himself tossing for an agonizing hour, his mind constantly reminding him of everything he had to say and explain, everything he was stressing over, and everything that made him want to jump out of his window before sleep finally took him. Dreams didn't plague him, as if his mind decided that he had enough. The next day would bring on its own problems.

At least he'd just be facing his friends.

That didn't completely settle him the next day. Reed felt energized, true. He'd even drawn a few pictures in his head before deciding to get out of bed and bathe, both of which fuelled him even more. But as time moved (slower and slower in subsequent minutes), as his friends began talking about O.W.L.s, and as the "So how did your meeting with Professor Flitwick go" question could no longer be answered with "I'll tell you later at the Room" Reed found it more and more difficult to recall what he planned on telling them. More upsetting still, he didn't know if he wanted their advice or not. He hoped he wouldn't breakdown again even in his precarious state of worry and crisis.

There was a sort of pause in his struggle while they were walking to the Room of Requirement, something he was thankful for. Brittany had sparked a debate after questioning the ingredients and mixing procedure of an invigoration draught. The argument was whether or not taking the draught on the day of the exams was cheating, which then moved to the fact that Sofie planned on using the answer-giving earrings Quinn gave her for a Transfiguration exam question. Reed didn't participate much in the conversation, though he tried, which earned the start of concern with some. But as the conversation progressed, the concern was pushed away for the moment. And continued to be pushed away when they threw their books to the large table in the middle of the room and studied. _Really _studied. Their last few attempts in studying as a group ended up in either sleeping in a pile in front of the fire or a them talking about the finer intricacies of life – or as intricate as Brittany could get (the girl was surprisingly in-depth and naively wise) – _then _falling asleep in a pile. They were a hairline close to making an Unbreakable Vow that would keep each other awake long enough to get some learning done.

Of course, Kurt and Rachel were quick to point out the impracticality.

Sofie was first to put down her book and rest her head on the table. "I'm done."

"You haven't picked up your Herbology book." Rachel pointed out from right across her, putting her quill down herself.

"Screw that shit, I have no intensions of going into a job that involves Herbology. I'll live without a Herbology O.W.L." She countered, not bothering to sit up straight. She groped for her wand which rolled a couple of inches out of her reach. Brittany nudged it over his her pinky. Sofie quickly summoned a pillow from across the room and it nearly tipped over Kurt's stack of books. "Perfect. Now I can soothe my headache." That was the most studying she'd done this month, a nice straight four hours. She'd review again after a while. Exams were near but not _that near_. Four hours seemed perfectly ample of time for studying.

"I'd love to go on your travelling thing you've got going on but excellence waits for no one." Kurt said as Sofie snuggled into her pillow. He huffed out a sigh and dragged his Potions book towards him. "And by excellence, I mean Gravallaghan." He grinned at Rachel and she winked back with her mouth open in exaggeration.

"As long as I'm invited to any and all of your shows free of charge, then by all means, leave me alone." It sounded like Sofie was being mean with her dry monotone but they'd all gotten used to it. In truth, she was too tired to express the excitement she had for her two friends who were well on their way to stardom. She knew this as a fact, Rachel and Kurt both had the ambition and the voice, it'd be _absurd _for them not to get into Gravallaghan. "I'd be unemployed for the most part so 'free' is the tipping point of any decision I will make from seventh year onwards."

"You know you can always work at any Breaking Bookstore. Mum likes you." Derek peeped from the other side of the table, stopping to stretch his limbs. His History of Magic essay _may_ be finished but he still had to proofread. He'd already misspelled 'attacked' one too many times and he wasn't going to have it happen again. A good walk around the table might ease his tense muscles.

"Yeah, only because she thinks we're shagging and she'd give anything to find out when that her one and only boy _finally_ has a girlfriend." She did a mock impression of Mrs. Breaker's voice at the end of her sentence, earning a giggle from Brittany and Derek. "I wonder how she'd take it when you tell her you're into dick."

"Don't make it sound so crass!" Derek retorted, sounding aghast.

"She's Sofie, she makes _everything_ sound crass." Reed waved his hand around, not looking up from his Charms book, only to knock over his ink bottle from the table. He cringed when it crashed to the ground. Reed bit down on his lips to keep himself from swearing. He turned his head away for a moment as a flash of anger went through him. Why was he so inept at life? He screamed at himself before deflating. No use crying over spilled ink. He picked up his wand, bending down to fix it.

"He's right." She raised her finger up in the air so she can get her point across. "And don't act virginal Derek. You are one of the most sexually charged people I know. It's a _wonder_ how you and Micah haven't done it yet." Derek flushed red, floundering for a comeback and found none. That got him a little frustrated. He huffed and continued his walk around the table. Sofie smiled against her pillow. Reed peeked up and placed the ink bottle back on the table, glad he didn't bang his head against it. He caught Derek's eye and was apologetic, he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Maybe he's not doing it yet because he's waiting for the right time." Brittany commented.

"_Thank you_!"

"You're the one to talk." Kurt murmured from the side. Brittany hadn't noticed.

"Regardless," Rachel did, making his skin crawl with shame, "Derek, like me, is saving his first time with Micah for when he's ready – when they're _both_ ready. Isn't that right, Derek?"

"Yeah. What she said." He lied but they didn't need to know that. School was more pressing that his love life problems.

"It's amazing how Puck hasn't gotten into your pants yet, let alone your lips, if I'm being honest." Sofie turned her head to the side so she could speak without having a mouthful of pillow. She wondered why she was still engaging in conversation since she was almost too tired for that. But it had to be said. She had to say it.

Like everyone else, Rachel turned a slight red. "Noah is –"

"Ooh, _Noah._"

"Shut up! Don't make me laugh while I'm arguing with you." Everyone else was giggling. "_Noah_ is capable of self-control, a feat I didn't originally thought he couldn't fathom." Rachel closed her Charms book and sat up straighter with her chin tilting forward and her eyebrow arching. Everyone did their best not to roll their eyes, except for Brittany, who was still busy with her Transfiguration book. "He is a gentleman and although he's not all that bright, I like talking to him and you know we placed a charm on him – I would like to point out that it was Sofie's idea – just to see if he was cheating on me with other girls since he'd been 'deprived' and I've constantly doubted our status for the first few weeks and we found _nothing_. Except for maybe the occasional flirt and once with Brittany but nothing happened in the end. So – to conclude – there." She nodded.

"I see your point but I can still say I'm shocked that both of you haven't shagged each other's brains out, same goes for you, Derek." Sofie announced, still not raising her head from the most comfortable pillow in the world.

"I'm not ready yet." Derek and Rachel said in unison.

"Just leave them alone about it, Sof." Kurt remarked.

"Thank you!" The two of them stared at each other with eyes bulged. "Stop it!"

Kurt pursed his lips, eyebrows high with amusement. "But I do agree with Sofie. Puck is, and I will deny this if anyone brings it up, hot. So is Micah. Logically –"

Sofie snorted. "Big word."

He tossed her a glare, giving Derek the same glare when he began stifling laughter, before continuing. "Logically, Puck would try to seduce Rachel with his eyes, which we've heard being praised over and over and over and over –"

"We get it, Kurt!"

He laughed. "– again. He could get into anyone's pants if he wanted to, guys and girls. I know the Tweedles are up for it." To that, Sofie and Derek whooped. "Anyway, Puck is _waiting_ for Rachel. If that's not anything serious, I don't know what is. I don't know how Rachel managed to tie down someone like Puck but I guess we'll never know since she never actively did anything." Rachel bit down her lip, keeping a broad grin from spreading. Brittany looked up knowingly, reaching over to rub her quill feather against Rachel's nose. "For Derek, we all know Micah is someone who can keep it in his pants so he'll wait if Derek waits. I'm sure he gets off on your snogging alone, judging by the amount of time you do it."

Derek didn't know whether to giggle or dig a hole in the ground and bury himself there. He crossed his arms but ended up letting a bubbling giggle escape his lips. "I –"

"Oh please, we all know what you're doing every time you go out with Micah. I can see it so _plainly _on your face!" Rachel pointed, sounding almost like she was accusing Derek of murder and happy about it.

"Alright, we have great snogging sessions at the back of the castle, happy?"

"Much."

"Yes."

"No not really, unless you let me film it."

"That wasn't very hard to admit, now was it?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to dignify you with a response."

"_Oh_ you just did!" Rachel laughed, raising her hand in the air. She waited for a few awkward seconds – Sofie's head was still on the pillow, Kurt shook his, and Brittany was reading – Reed sighed, as if giving up, and struck it with his palm. "I'll take it!"

"Shouldn't you all be studying? I'm the lazy one here." Sofie stated from her pillow. She shifted, turning her head towards Brittany. "You should all be ashamed, Brittany's trying to study and you're making such a ruckus!"

Brittany bopped her head towards Sofie with a tired smile. She pulled her hair out from its ponytail and shook it loose. "It's okay. I'm just rereading this one part of Transfiguration." She pressed her fingers together and raised it high over her head, making joints pop and her muscles relax. She wished Transfiguration was more like Charms. It was consistently her best subject. It was the only subject she was sure she'd get an O.W.L. for. The rest were questionable at best. She'd basically have a lot of free time in her sixth year so she decided to head to the choir room and dance during those times. If there was one thing she knew it was that no matter how well you danced, there was always someone better. She remained optimistic.

"Look at you, I wish I had a job idea just like you." Sofie sighed, reaching over to toss some of Brittany's hair from her face. "You don't even have to study much for it since most opportunities are in the Muggle world and you're just going to dance. I am doomed to a life of underachievement. I should just turn into a unicorn and run away to the forbidden forest and stay there forever, that's what I can do." Sofie was not as optimistic as her friend was but at least her imagination didn't cease to make others smile. "I swear if I fail to get my licence to Apparate on the get-go I will consider it a sign that I will have to work at a Breaking Bookstore."

"Don't make it sound like it's a bad thing." Reed spoke up. "I for one would love to work there. Mrs. Breaker gives great pay and I don't mind being around books all day. The worst I can get is having a…stack fall on me." Incidentally, that actually happened the summer before fifth year while he and Derek visited. It was more painful than he imagined.

"Yeah, but that's not going to happen, is it?" Kurt chimed in, resting his chin on a finger bridge as he leaned his elbows on the table. "Your mother made sure of that. We all know she's a slave driver but at least she's making sure you have a place right next to her when the time comes. You've got it all figured out for you, you don't have to worry about all this…this uncertainty."

Reed looked down, resting his head on a fist as he traced imaginary shapes on the open pages of his Herbology book. He didn't speak. He chose not to speak unless he was asked. It was quiet. He knew _they_ knew something was up. "Reed?" Rachel placed a hand on his shoulder. She bit down her lip and gathered up the courage to say what was on everybody's minds. "Are you okay?"

_Lie. Don't. Lie, it'll be easier. They'll know. It's okay. It's okay if you're not._ "No… Not really." He answered. If possible, Reed lowered his head some more. He didn't want to look at their pitying eyes or their starting attempts at comforting him. Unless they use the Imperius Curse on his mum, there was hardly anything they could do to drag him out of this twenty-four hour nightmare he called a life. He felt a different hand on his left one, followed by a head against his shoulder. _Derek_. He identified. His head and his stomach felt as heavy as the air around them. He still didn't look up. They were expecting an explanation and he gave one. "I don't… I don't think I want to be some fashion magazine-empire heir." He expected Sofie to gasp mockingly. He expected Kurt to ask him why not. He expected Derek to say "I know". Disappointment came in the form of silence. At least this disappointment didn't hurt as much. "It's what my mother wants and it's not something I can give her."

"Did you talk to Professor Flitwick about this?" Kurt asked. All of them sank a little lower when Reed shook his head.

"I tried to." Reed continued. "But my head was screaming at me left and right. I couldn't _think_ properly let alone make out a sentence out of it. All I could think about was getting out of there, to _breathe_ then I started crying even though I planned to arrange the screaming." He curled more into himself, not liking what he was saying. They didn't seem cross with him for not telling them sooner, a good thing, but he could tell they wished he did. "Mostly… Mostly I feel strangled. Like there's no room for me to be who I want to be because my mum already has a designated spot for me. That's who I am. That's who I'm going to be. At first I was okay with it… But now that O.W.L.s are coming and Mum is telling me to focus on Charms and Transfiguration and demanding me to practice… It's just not me. I mean it's me but it's not the whole me. It's just a part of me. I like fashion. I love my mum. But I don't want to devote my life to it, to her." He looked up, just a peek, and he saw Sofie's eyes staring back at him. A soft smile began to spread, it was sad, it was understanding. "I guess this could be my roundabout way of asking if I could travel with you. We'll have to be sneaky; Mum might go scouring for me."

Sofie laughed at that one with a shake of her head. "Reed, what do _you_ want?"

"The Almighty Question." Derek attempted to joke.

"I don't know what I want. What I want is for my mother's expectation to disappear. What I want is for people to not ask me what I want. I want more time." Reed answered after a while. Letting his words sink in, he felt better. Better than he'd ever felt in months. He looked at Sofie, who was nodding at him and he thought it wouldn't be so bad. Once he figured out how to Disapparate, he and Sofie could trek the world be free. Have all the time in the world. Sofie seemed to be on the same page after a few seconds, her face broke out into an all-out grin. Smiles were contagious.

"Feeling better?" Rachel asked, squeezing his shoulder.

"Much. I'm still scared though, when my mum goes looking –"

"We'll worry about that once we're out there." Sofie announced. "But for now, let's brush up on concealment charms."

"There's another thing…" Reed said. His skin crawled again and a deep-seated weight pulled down on his chest, making him almost unable to say it out loud. "Despite all of this… I want to do it because I owe my mum…everything. She raised me alone. Did everything for me… and I feel like if I say no I'll be ungrateful to her efforts. And I'll be the horrible son who deserted his mother for basically nothing…"

After a questioning pause, Kurt stood up and spoke. "You're your own person Reed. Just because you decided on going your own way doesn't mean you're a horrible person. People might think that, your _mum_ might resent you for it, but that's you. No one can force you into something you're not going to commit to. No one can put you into a position you hate. Unless you let them. And, as your friend, I'm telling you not to let them. You can pretend to be someone you're not to please someone else but pretending can only go so far and it will hurt you in the end. Do what you want, yeah? We'll be there for you when it gets hard." He smiled when he reached the spot behind his friend. He pressed his hands over his narrow shoulders. "Now, let's not stress about it now. We've got two more years."

Reed was the first to laugh. Rachel was the first to hug him. Everyone else jumped into it, Sofie and Brittany climbed over the table to join in. The biggest weight lifted from Reed and held all his friends back. They were right. They were going to be there for him no matter what – he'd do the same for each of them. Reed had lights guiding him in his questionable future. There were still questions, a whole lot of them, accompanied by worries. But as Kurt said, there were two more years to get through.

"God, we're so cheesy." Kurt stated and it made Brittany hug them all tighter.

* * *

><p>Kurt cleared his throat, which was slowly turning into an obvious red. Brittany turned around with a huge grin while Sofie wore a smug looking expression. "Kurt! Finally, you're out! We've been waiting for you and Reed for <em>ages<em>!" Brittany said.

"How was the Ancient Runes exam?" Blaine asked with an easy-going smile on his face. Kurt wanted to smack it right off his face before he planted a big fat kiss on those lips. While his mind was preoccupied, his mouth fumbled for an answer, which made Sofie snicker.

"Was it long and hard, Kurt?" She said, dragging out the words in a vulgar tone. Kurt forced himself not to take out his wand while Blaine choked out a laugh when the innuendo clicked in his head. He patted her back, shaking his head.

"It was, in fact." Reed answered, managing to even though he was a little flustered by the sexual context so early in the afternoon and in public. "I don't even remember anything I answered. Like the parchment sucked it all out of my head and I'm left with nothing."

"I know the feeling." Blaine chuckled then shrugged. "I can't promise that it'll get easier because I know it won't."

"That's comforting." Sofie said.

"I know. Well anyway, I see my use has expired now that you two are here." He nodded at Kurt and Reed. "I had fun talking to you two, see you around. You two too, Reed, Captain." Blaine breezed by, just in time for a scuffle to go on with two new Ancient Runes escapees that happen to just cross each other's paths and rubbed the wrong way. The group watched for a bit but then turned away – it wasn't anything new during this time of stress and deprivation.

"He called you 'Captain' that is hot." Sofie nudged playfully.

"Oh _right_, Kurt fancies Blaine, I forgot!"

"Can you not be so loud?" Kurt hissed, checking to see if Blaine heard it but the prefect was busy protecting himself from the flames roaring from a disgruntled Gryffindor's wand. Though grateful, he still feared for his safety as well as his friends, shoving them toward a different corridor. Brittany pouted with a pointed look in her eyes. "He still could've heard!" He defended himself.

"_So_, I'm assuming Derek and Rachel set up the Potions crash course in the Room?" Reed interjected, deflecting the conversation to something less prone to a playful duel in the corridors. He was far too tired to run after with them. Kurt already riled up like this promised something dangerous like the twins starting a firecracker parade after their Transfiguration practical exam. Sofie's half-smile made him wonder what was going through her head (which was most of the time) and he sought a way to keep it in her head for the time being.

"Yeah, while you two were busting your asses with Runes, we were productive." Sofie said, looking rather proud of herself for being productive. "I even picked up a History of Magic book."

"It was fun, we read it together." Brittany wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Congratulations." Kurt muttered sarcastically.

"Thank you!" Brittany pressed her hand on her chest, glad that someone recognized and were proud of their productiveness today even though they could've blown it off doing something else. Sofie let a giggle come through,

The exams were ending but they still had one more week to go. The only real important exam next week was Potions. No matter how much they loved Professor Weadell, History of Magic wasn't exactly a course they wanted to pursue as a profession. They would, however, continue to take the class in hopes to spend their remaining days in Hogwarts with at least one class they were happy to go to. The kind professor also gave them tips on how to make their essays better, which was a total godsend for most of their classes. Essays could help them with the written part of their Potions exam but the practical exam was the reason why they called up this meet up in the Room of Requirement. Kurt being the best of the bunch, agreed to help them through various Potions that might come out in the exam. Sofie wouldn't have a problem but she used up her earrings' properties in the Transfiguration practical. (In her defence, she could've used it in a much easier subject but she prided herself in the restraint she put up until the time came.)

When they came into the Room, there were six desks, with one in the middle with a chalkboard behind it. A hodgepodge of ingredients was piled up on two tables that were pushed up against each other on the other side across the chalkboard. The ingredients came from the Room itself, though the group, save Reed and Kurt, decided it be best if they added their own ingredients to the mix. Cauldrons of different sizes waited to be used on each desk (of course they wouldn't use their own, just in case the concoction exploded). In the middle of it all were Rachel and Derek playing with their Patronuses – a songbird and a dolphin, respectively. "I don't understand why I couldn't conjure her yesterday. I was spectacular, of course, but a little nudge from this one could've helped." She said as the translucent bird twittered around her hand. They were part of the few who could conjure a corporeal Patronus.

"Maybe the stress got to you."

"Showing off, you two?" Sofie teased as the door shuddered to a close. The floating animals dispersed into the air as their casters' focus was broken.

"Not particularly." Derek frowned and jumped off the desk he was sitting on. "I was just helping Rachel with her Patronus again." He took a bar of chocolate from his robe and broke it in half, handing one to his friend right across him. They both took simultaneous bites. "I see you've got our saviour."

Kurt laughed and bowed. "At your service."

"Great, give me a foot massage." Rachel joked, waggling her foot in the air.

Kurt raised his middle finger while he was still bowed down and smiling. Brittany led the group "_ooooooh_" and clapped giddily. "Alright, kiddies, let's start this lesson." Kurt clapped his hands and everyone moved to an empty table. Kurt hefted himself on the table, crossing his legs. He picked up a broken stick of chalk from the pile and tried to figure out what to do. "Alright, so… Now what? I didn't really come with a lesson plan."

"Five points from Gryffindor!" Brittany called out up front, earning a snicker from their tiny "class".

Derek raised his arm then with a flick of his wrist, his hand. Kurt scoffed and rolled his eyes but made a frivolous "proceed" gesture, a sort of response to Derek's earlier action. He stood up, all joking aside. He teetered from the left to the right, embarrassed that he couldn't master a simple potion. "I still can't do the Memory Potion without setting the cauldron on fire."

"We can start there."

They escaped with minimal damage. Sofie's fringe got a little seared and Derek's cauldron still caught on fire (though he got the potion right after the third try). Rachel's hand got repeatedly cut by an aggressive knife, which was stopped by a spell coming from Reed when it tried to hack his hair. Finally, Reed managed to spill his cauldron over his desk which became a pile of dust in a matter of seconds the moment the mixture touched the wood (he had to share Derek's third cauldron). These accidents did, however, help drill the potion into their skulls with the help of a little trauma. The session had the desired effect with all six of them less anxious about their last _truly_ important O.W.L. examination the following week.

* * *

><p>Summer was racing towards all of them and once the exams were all finished and all the books were closed for the time being, it was only then that they stopped to realize that another school year had passed. It was another step towards their seventh and last year in Hogwarts. Another step towards becoming of age, to becoming full-fledged witches and wizards. It was daunting. An adventure they weren't entirely sure they were ready for. But it was coming in two years. Two more exam weeks. Two more choir competitions with other schools. Two more visits to Diagon Alley for books. It used to feel so far away, now it was right within their reach. Just two more years.<p>

Rachel mulled this over (as well as her evident rise to stardom) after the History of Magic exam. Having been one of the first ones out, she used this time to finally – _finally, finally _– relax. She would've stayed longer to review her answers twice but she felt so sure about that exam that she gave it a once over and was gone from that room. "Hey." Puck sat down beside her in the grass under the tree in the courtyard, draping his arm around her right away. She smiled. He was the other reason why she was so eager to get out. They'd decided to meet here after her exam. This wasn't like her, to leave an exam without giving it a third look. Leaving the exam for a _boy._ She promised herself not to associate herself with Puck, yet here she was. She had to admit, it didn't really change her that much – Puck showed some annoyance to her personality dozens of times and somehow continued to be with her. Her friends didn't point out anything different, which she was sure they would. She still couldn't fathom why he picked her out of all of the girls he could have. The girls were keen on pointing that out for her time and again (nothing a brave face following a good cry and a talk with her friends can't fix). She'd wanted to ask him about it but doing so would reveal how paranoid she was. Puck would tire of her, he might be already tired of her, and she didn't need to shove him towards that realization. She didn't want to.

"How were your exams?" She asked, leaning her neck on his arm while the rest of her body stayed in place. She wasn't sure she was ready for curling up on his lap or wrapping her arms around his waist. He was very physical as one could quite imagine, but she was still tentative, new – _virginal_. She had as much idea what to do with a boy than Brittany had any idea what to do in Transfiguration.

"Good. Hate them though. Keeps me from doing this…" Puck murmured, tilting his head so their lips could meet. The arm around her shoulder pulled her closer. This was a far cry from their first kiss (_her_ first kiss). Rachel didn't want to think about it because they left her haunted and embarrassed. She'd flashback to the worst of it, when she tried to use her tongue (that was the last time she asked Brittany for help _ever_) as well as her wandering, awkward hands (it was also the last time she asked Derek for advice). Puck told her that he would take the lead.

Rachel kissed back, after a few months of practice with Puck she grew confident. Her hand finding his cheek which then found the back of his neck, pulling him closer. Her fingers curling around the end of his Mohawk, tugging at it as she felt his teeth sink into her lower lip in a teasing nibble. She felt him smile into it – he _did_ mention he enjoyed it when she kissed with the same intensity as he did. Their lips separated and Rachel was thrust back into the real world, a few minutes lost. She looked down and around, deciding whether or not anyone was watching them. He ran a thumb across her cheek, the action sending shivers all over her skin. She only truly thought she was beautiful when she performed and when Puck touched her like this. "You make me so _bloody hor_ –"

_And then you say things like that._ "Noah." Rachel pressed two fingers against Puck's lips. "_Spare_ me your sleazy thoughts please."

Puck puffed up and deflated at the same time though he kept his arm around Rachel. She could feel his patience wearing thin. Kurt's words rang back to her – if Puck was waiting, he was being serious about this. "Fine. It's just…"

"Just what, Noah?" Kurt's words couldn't keep her temper rising today.

He ran his hand from behind his Mohawk and dragged it down his face. He was trying to hide the way his cheeks were starting to colour. "I'm not used to going _so _long without it. It's been months – _months _– since I got laid." He complained, yelping like a kicked puppy with the eyes to match.

Rachel's whole body stung with inadequacy. Tears began to spring from her eyes and she had the urge to run away and be done with it. Run away from the inadequate feeling because Rachel Berry cannot be described as such. "I'm sorry I can't provide the necessary services to keep you happy." It was like everything that happened between them, the tenderness, the conversations, was thrown away as if they never happened. She began moving away from Puck but he kept her right beside him.

"I didn't mean it like that." Puck was quick to say before Rachel got her protests out of her mouth. The pout wasn't there. Pouting meant Rachel was upset over something petty. Her lips were in a straight line and she tried her best to rewind her tears. If she could cry on demand, she believed she could suck it up on demand.

"What _did_ you mean, then?" She couldn't hide how sharp her voice became. He grunted, uncomfortable and trying not to get pissy as she was sounding. He was about to speak when she spoke and that made him flare up. "Because frankly I don't understand why you don't just give up and have sex with the next girl you see who will be willing." She rolled her eyes, trying very hard to continue to suck it up. Puck began to speak again but Rachel wasn't done. She hadn't noticed. "I'm aware who _un_-hot I am. Your girls tell me all the time. And they're right. When _you_ can have any girl at any time, why do you _insist _on staying with me when it is so painfully hard - no pun intended – for you to not get…physical?" She'd said it in one breath. Somewhere in her tirade, a single tear breached her precariously placed façade which she quickly wiped away with her robe. She hadn't meant to have blurted that out. Puck was looking at her. The expression stung her, another prickling vibration running over her skin. When you make someone capable of making you feel beautiful, depending on them to do it for you, offending them shouldn't be something you do. When you grow dependent, when they go away, you fall flat on your face. Your ugly, large-nosed, oily face.

Rachel felt him grab her shoulders and he shook her. "Why won't you let me talk?!" That got her attention. Despite her regret, she was ready to tell him to go away, to leave her and be done with it. _Bloody hell, I'm an idiot._ She curled her lips inward, biting down on them to keep her from blabbering on. She'd done enough damage. "There… Isn't that better?" Puck said with a sarcastic tone. Rachel began to glare – maybe a bit more damage would do him good. She stopped herself from saying the next thing that was about to come out from her mouth. It would've gotten her nowhere except deeper into this fight. She didn't want her impulses jeopardizing her only shot in intimacy. She was quiet. He was quiet. She was looking at him not looking at her. He turned to her and opened his mouth.

Rachel expected the greatest blow to her life thus far. Instead, he closed his mouth and started to look very frustrated. Angry, even. He drew in a long breath and Rachel mimicked him. She didn't close her eyes. She wanted to see the train wreck happen so she would remember not to do this again. _Never do this again._ After a breath, Puck opened his mouth again and failed to utter whatever was in his head. Rachel didn't have the heart to demand to know what he was trying to tell her. She didn't want to hear it at the same time she wanted him to be done with it. Puck sighed and pushed himself from the grass and walked away, not giving Rachel the benefit of him looking back. Him looking back would've meant something, to her at least. He left the spot cold at his wake and Rachel finally let her tears flow. _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! _She shook her head into her hands and cried. She had scenes run through her head. The girls that ridiculed her, bullied her, triumphant and having their way with Puck. Him brushing her off as another conquest even though they hadn't gone that far. He'd tell everyone some story how he made her fall in love, how her physique wasn't enough to get him off. He'd brag about how he'd made her actually think they had something special. He'd talk about how he managed to get into her heart instead of her pants.

His word against hers. Puck was the popular Gryffindor prefect. Rachel was the short Slytherin girl who just happened to sing.

She'd rise above them, she knew that. That would comfort her later. For now, she cried. She picked up her things and her bag unloaded itself on the ground. She groaned and cursed and pondered why everything in her was falling apart because of a silly _boy_. Once she shoved her things roughly into place, she wiped enough tears to be able to walk away from the tree. She was aiming for Slytherin; she ended up right in the path of a friend.

"Rachel!" Sofie called, sounding gleeful, not noticing just yet. "My Granger, where did you get to? You missed Brittany waking up thirty minutes before the exam was over and she was just halfway done with – Rachel?" The red eyes, the tears, and stifled sobs registered to her and she drew Rachel into a quick hug. Rachel cried into her friend's shoulder and Sofie's grip tightened. A hand fell on her hair and began stroking it comfortingly as they moved into a corner. "We're going to murder him, yeah? Burn every living bit of him." She murmured into Rachel's hair.

She shook her head. "It's my fault." She squeaked and continued crying. "I was stupid. I didn't shut up. I should've just _shut up_."

Sofie didn't know what happened but she knew one thing. "It's not your fault, Rachel." She said, firmly with a friendly squeeze.

"Rachel? Sofie?" Derek's voice came floating down the hall. It was one of those times Rachel didn't want and audience.

It was only a matter of minutes before they commandeered an empty classroom. In another minute, Kurt, Reed, and Brittany came to the same room after Sofie had her Patronus lead them their way. Seconds later, the doors were sealed. Time moved slow and fast for Rachel. It felt like hours, talking about what happened, cringing and wringing out every detail she could think of. She was told again that she was beautiful. She was told it wasn't her fault. There were no clocks to indicate the time, there was only sunlight. She didn't notice it until the room turned golden and the silence stretched too long after Rachel asked them not to murder Puck. It was petty and she was more than that, she claimed. She didn't want anything else to be used against her. The little girl who couldn't get her emotions in check even though she should've known what was coming when she mingled with Noah Puckerman. When they walked out of the room, an hour and a half had passed even though it felt like more.

Around them, students enjoyed the beautiful sunset after a long week of exams. Rachel decided to head to Slytherin, not feeling up for dinner. Derek and Brittany accompanied her, promising to catch up and promising to get Rachel a sandwich along the way. Sofie still fumed. Kurt and Reed could tell it was there but they didn't comment. They were angry too though some their anger had turned into sadness and pity during their time in the classroom. "Are you coming?" Reed asked.

Sofie shook her head, starting to turn away from them. "I'm too consumed by my anger to eat." Her voice didn't sound angry, in fact, it was monotonous. But they could see it, the cold flames that were itching to see some revenge. Even though she'd teased and joked her way around the relationship, Sofie truly believed Puck was an okay guy. Rachel deserved the truth and Puck didn't give it to her. He toyed with her, played until he was bored and didn't get what he wanted. Sofie wasn't petty. This wasn't a petty matter. "I'll see you all later." Kurt began to protest, knowing that Sofie was about to do something reckless but she turned away and that was the end of it.

"We know nothing." Kurt said.

"Agreed." Reed nodded, turning away as well. If they didn't know anything the better. They didn't see Sofie veer towards two towering blonds among the crowd. They didn't see her squeeze their elbows and give one of them a look at urge them to follow. They didn't see the calculating smirk that spread across her face when the twins asked their Queen of Hearts what she wanted them to do.

"Set fire to your prefect's room."

* * *

><p>Derek woke up at five in the morning. All his things were packed in his trunk. His cat woke with him. Alec weaved around the empty common room as Derek got some tea. The put the pot down on the table and Alec jumped up on the couch with him. He was too nervous to sleep again. He'd tossed and turned the night before, his mind not shutting up until it was silent due to what he believed to be exhaustion. Now it was back. Tea could not remedy this. Its calming powers taken away. It felt a repeat of O.W.L.s week. It just kept him awake. All he could do was think about what he was going to do, telling himself that it was going to be fine. His nervousness kept him in a constant state of wanting to vomit. It wasn't because of his grades; there was the whole summer ahead of him before he could start freaking out. It wasn't because Puck's room up in Gryffindor tower caught fire yesterday due to a fallen candle and a well-placed firecracker in his room. The prefect and his roommates claimed to have no idea of the firecracker. Derek had a vague one and he saw it on three faces. It sent him to mild panic even though he wouldn't be the one getting caught. When it was ruled out as an accident, Derek's was preoccupied by the same thing not ten minutes later.<p>

Derek told himself he was ready for this but he wasn't. He wasn't going to have sex with Micah because he was ready. He was doing it for more selfish reasons. Among other things, he was afraid Micah would find him out and become upset over the fact that Derek didn't trust him. Maybe even question their whole relationship (this being said, Derek reminded himself that they hadn't said The Sentence yet which really put him in a very unstable position). He hadn't noticed how much time had passed after he finished the last of his tea. He was jarred out of his thoughts when the first group of Hufflepuffs came to join him in the common room. They were abuzz with glee and he almost forgot. Hufflepuff won the house cup this year – second year in a row. It was a happy distraction. Brittany came padding through the doors a half hour later, still in a fluffy pink robe which then followed getting ready for breakfast and then breakfast. Talking kept him busy for most of the day. Sofie continued to deny everything. Rachel smiled and talked about how she was going to Paris for the summer and hoping to see Sofie there. Kurt told the story of the fire. Reed confided his wariness about seeing his mother again. Brittany asked Derek if they were still on for dance camp that summer. All wonderful at deflecting his worries but as soon as tea came, Derek had to break the news. He _had _to tell his friends, even if it was a bit of a lie. He didn't want to think of the horror he'd have to face if they knew what motivated this decision. Besides, they gave him the boost he needed. The encouragement they gave propelled him to Micah who was with a group of Ravenclaws right across him. It was easy to whisk him away.

Friends whooped and catcalled and teased, like they knew what was going to happen. They'd just been assuming all those months before. It was really happening that day.

"Where are you taking me?" Micah asked as Derek led him by the hand through a series of corridors and stairs. He turned his head and gave his boyfriend a wink. The nervous butterflies mingled with some excited ones. By now, Micah had an inkling of what was going on. His motives weren't atrocious. Really, Derek wanted to part for the summer properly, giving something Micah wouldn't forget.

Derek was afraid.

He was so afraid that Micah would find someone else – better and brighter than he'll ever be. If Derek didn't do this right, he was sure to lose Micah. He couldn't make himself believe wholly in Micah's words – that it didn't matter when they'd have sex – mostly because distance had a way with screwing with him in the past. (The fact that they hadn't said The Sentence is again brought up in his head.) His heart squeezed when he considered the idea of Micah not loving him. It was stupid. He _knew_ it was stupid. Couldn't he trust Micah not to hurt him? Couldn't he just let it be? How was Hayden or Puck similar to Micah?

He didn't have to do it. Micah reassured him with his ever-present loving tone that made his friends want to get sick all over the castle floor. Fear had a way of fuelling his feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. Fear of gaining more weight made him take drastic measures. Fear of losing Hayden, fear of not having anyone else love him for who he was, blinded reason and he desperately clung to Hayden. He gave the Beauxbatons Boy everything only to fall without anyone to catch him. And now, fear made him do this irrational assurance Micah would _have_ to remember him after this. Through the summer, hopefully. Surely.

Derek began to slow down as he reached the familiar seventh floor corridor. The Room's doors appeared before he even got near – after so many years of visiting, the Room was aware of what the six friends were planning. It was listening.

Micah gasped slowly, gazing up at the doorway that appeared. "The Room of Requirement," he breathed, in awe. "Is this where you and the others go off to?" He asked, matching his pace with Derek. Derek felt his heart against his throat, feelings reaching new heights as he squeezed his boyfriend's hand in reply. _This was it_. He let go and stood in front of the doors for a long second, wishing for an hour's privacy. He opened the doors just enough for the two of them to enter. Micah was curious. His expression asked what was inside and what was its purpose? Why did Derek decided to bring him here the day before they left the castle? Derek didn't provide an answer, he took both of Micah's hands and brought him inside.

Inside where it smelt of well-read books. Inside where it was dimly lit by floating candles up above the arched ceilings. Inside where a single bed waited for them with velvet sheets and velvet pillows. Derek's lips twitched to a smile, walking into Micah's personal space as the door closed with an echo at its wake. He played with one of the buttons of Micah's shirt, almost unbuttoning but not quite yet. It took a moment for Micah to notice as he was taking it all in. Their eyes met and the first button was popped open. Derek leaned in to peck Micah's lips. Far too quick for Micah's taste.

"What's all this?" He cupped a hand just below Derek's ear.

"I figured it was time." The other boy murmured in reply. Another button was popped loose. Hopefully Micah didn't notice how his fingers were trembling.

Micah's hands trailed down Derek's body and rested on his hips. "Are you sure?" He asked, backing them towards the bed. A sliver of skin appeared as they walked, Derek took a deep breath when he felt Micah's skin on his.

"Yeah." He wasn't. "Are you?"

Micah nodded. "Yes."

"But I'm not sure if I still know how to… you know…" He whispered, hoping it would cover up any tenseness Micah would notice.

"You don't have to worry." He felt like he should. "You're amazing." _You're just saying that now_. His mind was silenced when they kissed again, falling into the bed. As the kiss progressed, the clothes started to be irrelevant. Shoes and socks were first to go. Micah's hands pushed Derek's shirt away as they went from his hips to his waist to the line of his ribs. Micah pulled away from Derek, placing kisses on Derek's jaw before sliding the shirt completely off of him. Derek wrapped one arm around Micah's neck, pursuing his lips as his other hand sought to unbutton the last few buttons of Micah's shirt. They ground their hips together, making Derek gasp and Micah shudder above him.

The button that held Derek's shorts together came undone and Micah's kisses left his mouth and moved to his neck, tracing it with warmth and making Derek giggle with the wisps of rough hair that grazed his sensitive skin. Derek pushed the unbuttoned shirt away, Micah threw it. One of the hands that were on Derek's waist dipped down and discovered the loosened hemline of his shorts. It crept deeper, curling around one of the cheeks, making Derek moan softly. Clothes were slowly divested in an even pace; Derek didn't want to look desperate. Micah wanted it to last.

Derek summoned his shorts and took out the condoms and lube (the latter was awkwardly attained while the former was easy since Brittany had loads). They let those lay beside their wands.

Micah knew his way around prep. He kept their bodies pressed together. His lips never left Derek's torso so he wouldn't be too far to hear every tiny sound. Derek made the most delicious sounds as Micah played him finely with his fingers, finding his spot and abusing it later on. It left Derek a whimpering mess, clutching onto Micah's arm and hair, tugging and scratching the same time a moan went through him. The other boy made it worse (or better) by sucking on the pulse point and marking him there with another hickey.

"Put it on me." Micah gasped against the hollow of Derek's neck, his lips following a path along his collarbone soon after. Derek didn't protest. Ready or not, this was happening. _No turning back. _

"I want to be on top." Derek requested and Micah's lips closed around his. The lips vibrated with a stifled moan as Derek's fingers closed around Micah and began stroking. It was slow and firm but not enough. Micah whined but he knew this was revenge for the teasing circles he massaged within Derek.

Micah pulled his fingers out when it was on and hovered over his boyfriend with one hand supporting him. "Let me – first….yeah?"

"Alright."

"Ready?"

"Yes." Derek's breath hitched the same time Micah sighed with content. He pressed a hand over the small of Micah's back, playing with the dip of his muscles, trying to relax. Micah rocked his hips until he was completely inside of Derek. He moaned. It felt like he was on fire – a fire-freezing charm gone wrong and he could still feel the heat. Derek crossed his wrists behind Micah's neck and rolled them over. Micah moaned again. Derek pressed his forehead against Micah's as they caught their breaths, watching each other settle into the position.

"So far so great." Micah commented. Derek smiled. His irrational worry began crumbling – its need being fulfilled through their physical connection and how Micah was reacting. The world fell away when Derek moved. Micah held his hips. A few minutes later, Derek found that a squeeze meant "slow down" and a circling of his thumb meant "faster" Micah didn't have to ask for what he wanted. Derek already figured his hands out.

Micah laced his fingers with Derek's, which were on his chest, keeping himself upright as hips rolled in a quicker tempo. "Kiss me." He said within a moan. Derek complied. He placed their laced hands on either side of Micah's head and his lips ghosted over the ones underneath his. "Don't tease." Micah pleaded, tilting his cheek to press their lips together.

"Delayed gratification can be good." Derek moaned loudly, echoing Micah's when he ground their hips as close as possible. The grip they had on each other tightened. Micah threw his head back when he was hit by an orgasm – he thought he would've lasted longer. "Fuck, Derek." His muscles grew stiff under Derek for a moment then went limp as a gust of breath came out of him. He felt as light as a charmed feather and the only thing keeping him from floating away was Derek.

"Too soon?" The worry came back and broke through and Derek hadn't had enough time to catch himself. His boyfriend was concerned by that expression, touching a pink cheek in response. Derek held the hand and kissed his palm.

"Why do you look so worried?"

"I'm not." He was. It was too quick Far too quick to be perfect. "I just wanted your opinion is all." He could tell Micah could tell something was up. The silence made him anxious. Scenarios, bad ones, ran through his head – a fight, questions, a worse fight, crying – and they made him wish this hadn't happened. Although his thoughts were attacking him, Micah sat up and hoisted Derek off of him.

"It was extraordinary." Micah replied. "Spectacular. Mind-blowing." He placed comforting kisses along Derek's shoulder. "Too amazing that I couldn't've possibly lasted long." Derek giggled, burying his head into Micah's shoulder. This was turning out better than he expected. So much better. Then he felt his boyfriend's hand curling around him. A protest was ready on his lips but Micah shushed him. "Lie down." Derek pressed their lips together, mostly in relief. Micah kissed back with the intention to make Derek feel the same surprise rush he felt. Derek lied on his back and Micah eased his legs apart. He started mouthing against the supple skin on his boyfriend's inner thighs, putting to use the "weak spot" information he'd gathered. He felt Derek tremble under his hands. Smiling, he bit down on the skin, basking in the sharp keening sound that echoed through the room. Derek felt himself twitch. He tried to touch himself but Micah swatted him away.

"No." He looked up at Derek with a devilish glint in his eyes. The anticipation went straight to Derek's groin.

Micah slowly pushed his two fingers into Derek, taking another moan for him to keep. He trailed kisses leading to Derek's erect cock, leaving behind extra warm skin. Derek arched from the bed, tangling his fingers into Micah's messy hair when he finally felt the moist, warmness of the other boy's mouth. He sucked hard around the member, Derek shuddered, moaning Micah's name. Louder, when Micah started moving his fingers inside of him. Derek was a whimpering mess. Micah was playing with his prostate, massaging circles against it much like earlier only this time he had the benefit of his boyfriend's mouth around him. Micah massaged fast while his head moved around his cock in quick twists with his tongue lapping at the base, slow otherwise. He focused on pressing against Derek's sweet spot when he thrust his fingers inside, the back and forth motion dizzying. All the while, Derek's vocal range was tested, high when the first deadly combination was used, low and begging when teased.

Derek bucked into Micah's mouth, purely out of instinct as he chased the orgasm that was in reach. Micah helped him to it and through it. As Derek all but sang the sound of pleasure he let out, Micah rocked his fingers into the tightening muscles, wishing very much another part of his body was experiencing this. He took in everything that came from Derek, his sounds, his praise. When he was finished, Derek opened his eyes, seeing black along the edges of his vision as well as dots everywhere else. He blinked them away. He felt Micah leave his body and fell on the empty space beside him.

"I really like this bed." Micah announced, turning his head to his boyfriend who was still having trouble breathing properly. Derek managed to nod, though. "It's really soft." He pulled the velvet sheet on them, manoeuvring it from its tangled form. Micah spooned him, wrapping his hand on top of Derek's. He placed a kiss on Derek's shoulder and said, "And you're here."

_I love you_. Derek wanted to say but wasn't it too early? How many months were they together? Six months? Five? Was that enough to say those words? Derek had no idea. It wasn't like he had the best experience with saying them. Fear set in again, destroying their moment. _His _moment. Micah knew nothing. At least, he hoped.

Micah's warmth covered him and he wanted to say it but what if Micah didn't want to hear it? Then he scolded himself after a moment as Micah pressed more kisses along the nape of his neck. Micah was not like Hayden. Or Puck. Or even Derek Seigerson. Micah was his friend – his fellow bookworm friend since first year – so they knew each other, he knew Micah had one other boyfriend and that after they broken up they were still friends, he knew Micah was a loving, kind person. Micah wasn't like Hayden at all except for the fact that they had brown hair and that they were exceptional in bed.

Derek steeled himself. A deep breath before –

"I love you." Micah mumbled against his neck, kissing it softly. Derek could feel his breath run along his reddening cheek. He wanted to burst into song and freeze the moment forever and never leave the Room. He snuggled into Micah's embrace, turning his head towards his boyfriend and shared a warm, lingering kiss.

"I love you too."

* * *

><p>"It's funny how it's now summer and we're back on the Hogwarts Express. Almost back home to our parents. Another year passed us by and now we're nearly sixth years." Kurt commented as the scenery began to change. They were nearing King's Cross. The day was a good one. The sun was shining. The weather was fair. He could almost smell his stepmother's "welcome home" muffins. He wondered what flavour they were this year. He looked to his friends who seemed to be listening. "Do you remember the first time we met?" He saw a smile creeping across Rachel's lips and he saw it happen to Derek's as well. "That was <em>five years<em> ago. I should feel like a long time but it doesn't. It feels like I blinked and here we are."

"I know… A lot has changed." Reed put in. He had a great view of all of them. Derek and Kurt were by the window. Brittany was on the floor with the cats. Sofie leaned on the door, just waking up from a nap and Rachel leaning against Kurt's shoulder. He could picture them five years younger, just coming home from their first year at Hogwarts. Physical changes were obvious. Different hairstyles, different height, weight, builds. It was a lot less complicated. No careers or expectations to worry about. No boys or girls taking over their lives (with the exception of Sofie who remained boy crazy since day one). No tears were shed. As easily as he imagined it, it went away and he saw their current state managing to stay friends throughout complications.

"This is us growing older." Sofie charmed her camera to fly overhead and took a picture of them from the window with barely any preamble. "Time flies so fast. I don't think I'm mature enough to be a legal witch. I'm not ready to grow old." A smattering of chuckles filled the room. They reached the station and outside they could already see eager parents waiting for their children to come out of the train. "Where does the time go?" She didn't want to leave their compartment. Not yet. Neither did her friends.

"To schoolwork." Derek said.

"To choir practice."

"To choir _competitions_."

"To Quidditch."

"To boys."

"And girls." Brittany chimed in with a wink.

"To the Room."

"Derek has had sex in the Room of Requirement _twice_. I cannot get over that little tidbit." Sofie said. Derek blushed and grinned. They all looked at the door and saw the same thing – a line of students trying to get off the train. They also saw Micah who had forgotten this was their compartment and was surprised to see them as he hiked his backpack up his shoulder. Brittany gave Derek a nudge with her foot and he asked her to stop it. He mouthed "I love you" and Micah mouthed it right back, followed by a kiss in the air. Derek couldn't stop smiling, even when Micah was out of their eyesight and everyone was teasing him. He didn't tell them to shut up.

"I wonder who's _neeeeeeext_." Rachel sang and everyone began to laugh as another boy came into view. Sofie was the first to stop. Puck stood in front of the door with an unsure, apologetic expression on his face. Sofie and Kurt glared while everyone else looked away. He started opening the door but Sofie whipped out her wand and silently dared him to cross that threshold. "Sofie…" Rachel pleaded, not wanting to make a scene out of this. Puck left and Sofie sat back down. Rachel wiped a tear away. She'd suffered a few blows the short while between their fight and her getting on the train, mostly from the same girls who taunted her about Puck. Those kept the hurt fresh. Puck showing up looking upset made her confused but a little hopeful. She tried to stifle that hope but it lingered. She hated it.

There was an awkward lull in the conversation as Rachel worked through what she felt when she saw Puck again.

Brittany picked it up again. "I think Kurt's next because Blaine is single again." Everyone turned to Kurt and he began to cover his face. Rachel managed to conjure a small smile while everyone grinned.

"Don't remind me." He said.

"It's not like _you_ broke them up yourself." Sofie said with a firm nod. "You sent the bloke one anonymous Valentine and they get into a fight. They were having trouble from the start if they let that happen."

"I know… I know…"

"So…excited for your new boyfriend?" Brittany squeezed his calf, still grinning.

"_First_ boyfriend, thank you very much." Kurt announced proudly and everyone cheered even though it hadn't happened yet.

"The way's clear, we can go out now." They all looked to Reed then to the empty space in front of them. A few students passed by. Reed opened the door. They could be the last ones aboard and their parents must've been looking over people's heads in the crowd, trying to spot theirs. Rachel's fathers were probably getting her bags. Brittany's mother would get hysterical if she didn't see her soon and her dad was doing his best to prevent that. Mrs. Breaker and Mrs. Van Kamp chatted while scanning for a curly, strawberry blond because where Reed was, Derek was there too. Finn would be looking for Kurt as per their parents' command. The Salvadairs would be waiting with Augustus, probably looking rather impatient at this point. They all thought the same thing, the moment they walked off the train summer would truly begin. They wouldn't see each other until two weeks before the first of September, with their grades and stories in tow and a tub of ice cream waiting for them at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Getting off the train meant two more years before Hogwarts ends and a new adventure began. Rachel was the first one on her feet, the others followed. It wasn't goodbye yet.


	6. Chapter 6 - Part 01

Diagon Alley was at full swing, more than it usually was. New students were trouncing along, some already wearing their Hogwarts robes and proudly carrying a few of their books. Some people would bend down and ask them how excited they were for the school year. Muggle borns were easy to spot, eyes wide, jaws agape at the magic – real life, actual magic that they only _dreamed _of. Their parents were always close by, still new, still not able to fully grasp the concept that their child was capable of changing the colour of their sign in front of the shop or were able to make a table fit into a bag. Old students came as well, chatting about their new year at Hogwarts or even talking about what they were doing now that all of their seven years were now over.

Then there were six students who just arrived with their O.W.L results scattered around the table, careful not to drip ice cream all over them. Six letters for six students, all catching up on details that couldn't possibly fit into one letter, no matter how long those letters could get. But there was an extra letter amongst the usual six, one that wasn't mentioned in their communications. The seventh letter came from Rachel Berry, who was hesitant and nervous to share this bit of paper with the rest of her friends. After seeing a group of incoming first years laughing while their parents watched nearby made her think otherwise.

_Rachel,_

_I don't know where to start. I guess I'll start with the fact that I charmed this letter to be indestructible so you can't get rid of it. I also charmed it to follow you around until you read it. You could probably say it was just as stubborn as I am. I want you to hear me out. I would speak to you in person but that would be hard since I can't speak to you in person, for one thing. I don't know where the hell you are. For another, I don't know how to talk to you. You always interrupt. And I don't want to see how hurt you look because it makes me feel so guilty._

_I didn't mean to walk away from you that day under the tree. I was frustrated because you wouldn't let me get a word in. I was angry you thought I didn't care about you. I admit. I tried to move on from you this summer. My friends told me I could do better. But I know I can't. You're a challenge. You're always a challenge and I like that. Every day you get on my nerves and every day I enjoy it._

_I didn't say anything and walked away because I realized how much I care about you and it scared me. My feelings scared me and I don't know why I reacted that way. I guess it was the first time I felt anything like I felt with you. When you thought I only cared about having sex with you it hurt. I hated that it hurt. That time I did. Now I wish I did things differently. _

_This is my fourth attempt in writing to you and I'm tired. I'm just going to wing it now. I need this to get to you before summer ends. I read it over and it looks like a mess. I know it does. But I say fuck it. This sounds so gay. No offense to your gay friends. _

_I just want to say I'm sorry and I want us to talk this over. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't mean to let the extent of my feelings scare me. I miss you, Rachel. _

_I'm coming back to Hogwarts for my seventh year, even though I planned on leaving this summer. I want to see you. _

_Sincerely,_

_Puck_

"So... what do you think?" Rachel asked, looking at her friends when Reed finally finished reading the letter she got two days ago. She ran her teeth on her lip, watching them share looks across the table and over the ice cream. Sofie took the letter and placed a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, rereading it. She tucked her black hair back behind her ear. It was cut short but she still held away her fringe since got in the way of her concentrated reading. Rachel looked to her other friends and made the observation. They all had new hair that year. She got a full fringe like Brittany's, who shrugged when they caught each other's eyes. She didn't know what to do either. Derek changed the colour of his hair to a jet black, a change from his usual brown. He was still looking into the distance, trying to figure out his answer. Reed's curls were shorter now while Kurt was coiffed to perfection. Both of them looked unsure of what was going on in their heads. Aside from their hair, there wasn't much of a different. The boys grew taller and so did Brittany. She and Sofie stayed the same height. Rachel could list more observations, from Kurt's new clothes to the unopened envelopes that contained their O.W.L.s. From the book that was still holding Derek's finger in between unread pages to Sofie's big beribboned headband and how it was a surprising shift in her wardrobe. But these observations weren't enough to stop Puck's letter coming up on repeat in her head. She couldn't take any more thinking. She couldn't take any more silence. "Well?"

"I'm surprised he got 'sincerely' spelled right." Kurt muttered and Rachel groaned in exasperation. "Alright, bloody hell. Calm down, we're getting to it." She turned to Sofie who reacted most strongly with their break up. Sofie pulled out the spoon and read the letter one more time. Rachel was expectant, whether good or bad, she'd do what her friends say since she couldn't trust a decision like this to herself. Mostly because she wanted to see him. She felt her heart flutter when she got the letter at first. Then when she read it, her skin vibrated with happiness she hadn't been expecting. This was a bad thing. Rachel still had strong feelings for Puck even though she shouldn't have. She tried and failed and now she sought her friends' help.

"You should talk to him, see what the bastard wants and then we'll decide." Sofie answered, placing the letter on a dry spot on the table.

"Wait…we?" Derek asked and everyone turned to him, noting the lower timbre of his voice. It made him a little self-conscious but he continued. "What do you mean 'we'?"

"It's simple. We follow Rachel to what Puck thinks to be a private conversation when in reality we are going to be there to judge him and help her decide whether or not he's going to be an asshole to her in the future." It sounded so simple like there weren't any difficulties involved. Difficulties like their obvious concealment, which Kurt pointed out. She chuckled. "Don't look so worried. The worst that could happen is Puck getting mad and shooing us away, which won't happen because we're still going to watch after that." Rachel stifled a giggle. No matter how hard she tried, a smile was on her face and she leaned her head on Sofie's shoulder. It was absurd but it was funny because she knew Sofie would do it and so would the rest of them. Sofie turned to her fellow Ravenclaw and gave him a wink. "Besides, practicing concealment charms and/or potions should be a thing now, am I right?"

Despite it being a serious matter, running away from his mother and the future she gave him, Reed nodded. Albeit still nervous but his mind was set after the summer of being constantly shown around Mum's new office. "You're right." Derek laughed and finally placed a bookmark in between the pages of his book, putting it back into his messenger bag. He could only imagine Reed on the run for a few moments before the image of his friend tripping on a pebble invaded his imagination. Reed nudged him, aware of where his thoughts were taking him.

"So," Rachel spoke up, "I'm going to talk to him…?"

Sofie nodded. "It wouldn't hurt. Give it a couple of weeks though – we need to practice hiding ourselves for when the time comes." Rachel took the letter and put it back into its envelope. She had to admit, the added clandestine observation from her friends made the whole thing more exciting. Like she was in a soap opera or a play full of deception.

"Thank you all. Means a lot that you're still going to help me with this." Rachel sighed, feeling a weight getting knocked off her chest.

"We've been stuck with you for – what? – five or six years, Rachel." Derek smirked. "I'm starting to think that we'd kill for each other."

"I would." Sofie chimed in, a grin on her face as she slipped another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

"Sometimes I wonder why we're friends." Kurt commented with an almost tired smile on his face.

"Because, even though you wouldn't admit it, you're crazy too." Derek ate the last bit of ice cream after fighting Brittany for it. He shuffled his letter into one of his coat pockets and tapped on the table. "Now, I think it's about time we get off our bums and get to buying our books!" He stood, Kurt following suit with his results in his hands. Sofie was the last one to push herself up and left a few sickles on the table.

"Thanks, Sven!" She called as the bowl and the spoons vanished. The boy at the counter waved vigorously, shouting "you're welcome" even though they hadn't gotten very far. Sofie waggled her fingers at him with a rather teasing smile and turned away with her hair flipping with her movement.

Reed rolled his eyes and nudged her after giving the serving boy a glance over his shoulder. "You know you really shouldn't give him hope like that."

"I think she should," Brittany said. "He gave us free chocolate syrup _and_ Oreo bits."

"Oh _that's_ what they're called." Sofie replied.

"Really?" Kurt called from up front. "She's been sending you those for years now. How can you not remember Oreo?"

"Clearly she isn't sending me enough." She winked at Brittany who countered with an air kiss. The two girls laughed and wrapped their arms around each other. The first, most obvious stop was Flourish and Blotts to get their new books for the school year. The place wasn't as crowded as they thought it would be, owing to the comfortably warm afternoon. Reed was the most relieved, he didn't want to experience books falling over him ever again. Still, Brittany followed Reed around to help him carry his books since he managed to pass all of his O.W.L.s and Brittany had only gotten four. She'd even considered dropping her Herbology class since she didn't have much motivation to continue it leaving her with the most free time among the bunch. Rachel had Derek trailing with her, also having passed all of her O.W.L.s. The two chattered on in a different section of the store, figuring out the pros and cons to continue their history class. (The fact that Professor Weadell was the teacher was the heaviest pro – the only pro.) Sofie and Kurt went another way, looking for a Charms book and talking about how they could learn about Muggle life more with Derek and Brittany than in a classroom with Professor Schue. They all added to the chatter that floated in the air, along with disciplinary shouts from parents and the tired _dings_ of the registers after so many hours of work when summer began reaching its end.

Other students flocked right in, saying hello to familiar faces and walking the other way when seeing a face they'd much rather not have been familiar with. A girl sneered at Rachel and, by association, Derek. Rachel glared right back but was surprised not to be at the receiving end of another insult. Derek turned away during the exchange, feeling uncomfortable. He took their Defence Against the Dark Arts book and immediately blushed when he saw the smiling face on the other side.

"Hiya." Derek thought his face was going to rip apart the way his smile continued to stretch.

"Fancy seeing you here." Micah smiled, reaching over with a slightly awkward angle to touch Derek's cheek. "I like the new hair."

"Hi, Micah!" Rachel pressed in, taking out a copy of the same book from the shelf before Derek could reply. "Come over here, we need help carrying our books!"

Derek squeezed Micah's hand with a smile. "Yeah. We do."

A few shelves down, Reed heard the laugh he always heard when Micah thought Derek did something funny. It was infectious and he could already imagine the goofy grin his best friend hand on now that his ever loving boyfriend was in the flesh. He was about to ask Brittany to reach for the last copy of the Transfiguration book he couldn't quite reach when he turned and was greeted by a chest, hard, stumbling back. His Herbology and Potions books took the worst of the fall, he was suspended with one hand holding onto his arm and another around his waist.

"Sorry about that." Shane murmured as he slowly helped Reed to an upright position. His eyes were wide and it made Reed feel strange when he realized that Shane was staring.

"It's okay…?" The fall was, he was as clumsy as it got, but this whole holding him like one would hold a dance partner after a successful dip was not. As well as the look Shane was giving him.

"Reed?" Brittany peeked from the other side, having wandered off when she saw a Muggle born drag her parents from one shelf to another. Even though she thought she was a little dumpy and chunky, she reminded Brittany of herself. But she snapped herself out of it when she heard books fall. Her friend threw turned his head and he had some pink on his cheeks. She then noticed Shane's arm around Reed's waist, her eyebrows rose, making the two boys notice the arm as well. Shane jumped backward, almost hitting another person behind him. "Am I…intruding?"

"_What?_ No!" Reed hurriedly picked up his books. "Sorry!" He told Shane and he believed he saw Shane's face crumble at his earlier denial. "I mean, you're not intruding. There was nothing to intrude. I bumped into – he caught me – and…" The more he spoke, the more awkward he felt. Reed clutched his books, murmuring a pathetic "thank you" to Shane and walked to a different line of shelves not waiting for Brittany.

Brittany decided Reed wouldn't be injured in the next minute so she turned to Shane, who shoved his hands into his pants, trying to look not tall at all. Brittany floated towards him and poked his stomach. When he looked up he was about as red as his house colours. "Fancy Reed?" Shane's jaw dropped and he started stammering an answer. "Don't try to deny it either! Even _I _could tell! You totally –"

"Shh!" Shane pressed a hand over Brittany's mouth.

"Shane?" Brittany hummed happily behind the hand and went on her tip toes to see her prefect, Blaine, standing at the mouth of two shelves. She waved her hand as a greeting. He waved back with a bemused look on his face. "Should I bother to ask…?"

Shane pulled his hand away and started to stammer again before heaving a long breath and said. "Reed." Shane's shoulders slumped down and he scratched his head. Blaine smiled with every need to comfort his brother bursting through.

"You tried, at least?" Blaine patted him on the shoulder and turned his attention to Brittany. "Hello, Britt."

"So you know about Shane's crush on Reed?" Brittany whispered to Blaine and Shane groaned. His brother smiled at his fellow Puff and nodded. "Well I don't know if Reed's gay but with Kurt being gay and Derek being gay we're just waiting for the shoe to fall really." She giggled then turned serious. "Not that gay can be caught."

Blaine chuckled. "We get it, Brittany."

"I don't blame you, really." Brittany said to Shane, walking over to wrap a friendly arm around his waist. "He's really pretty."

Shane tucked Brittany's head under his cheek and a short whine came from behind his mouth. "_So_ pretty."

A peal of laughter interrupted Blaine's teasing. His attention went beyond Brittany's shoulder and he smiled wider. She turned, pulling apart from Shane and waved Kurt over. However, Kurt stood in the small lane between columns of shelves, forcing his eyes not to bulge and his cheeks not to blush. He wanted nothing more than to turn away and look for his History book. "Kurt!" _Damn it, Brittany! _"Blaine and Shane are here!" She giggled and only noted the hesitation for a moment before trudging over to say hello.

Kurt stepped back, a tight smile on his face followed by a small wiggle of his fingers. He looked up at the shelves in hopes that he could pretend that the book he was looking for wasn't here (Reed left the last Transfiguration book on the shelf which just the one he was looking for) and walk away. Although Kurt could engage with Blaine in any other time, this meeting swept him off his feet and made him land on his ass. All he could think about was what Sofie said that made him laugh ("Stupid bloody tiny legs. Kurt, give me your height. You don't need most of it. Not really. Right?") It was on repeat in his head and if Blaine asked him a question, he'd probably reiterate it. He was about to bolt when a hand went around his waist, surely enough, Sofie was at the end of that hand. "Hey!" She pushed Kurt forward with her. He reached behind him, maintaining the smile on his face, and dug his nails into Sofie's wrist. She retaliated, squeezing harder than he did. Kurt bit back an embarrassing yelp.

"Sofie, Captain Kurt." Blaine nodded to each of them with his special brand of gentlemanly charm. Kurt wanted to take him home and cook him dinner forever. "Trust you had a nice summer?"

"I've had better." Sofie answered, glancing at Kurt. She could tell he was nervous with the sudden appearance of who could be the love of his life and with a more enthused smile, she endeavoured to yap on until Kurt could get his bearings and flirt with this beautiful example of single, gay hotness. (_He's a Nightingale, Hufflepuff Prefect, and Quidditch Captain. If Kurt doesn't bag him, _I _will._) "I can't wait to be seventeen and be free as a unicorn in the wild and get my apparition license."

Shane nodded, taking out his hands from his pockets, his smile turning more easy going. "Yes! I know how you feel. I just want to learn how to zip from one place to another and just lie on foreign ground." He smacked his brother's arm lightly. "Blaine doesn't take me anywhere fun."

"I took you to fun places!"

"Amsterdam." He pointed out.

"You know why we can't do that…yet." He glared though it didn't hold as much strength as it when Shane was shorter than him. Shane mouthed the words back mockingly.

"Don't worry, Shane. We can go together next year." Sofie winked and Shane laughed.

"Don't…" Blaine sighed, closing his eyes like he was wishing away a headache. "Don't encourage him."

_Okay, deep breath. Speak. _"The Tweedles encourage him enough." Kurt added, though calling them the Tweedles once again made him groan inwardly. He hadn't wanted to succumb to their crazy but there he was, calling them the Tweedles. He tried to remind himself that at least he wasn't calling Blaine "White Rabbit". Blaine chuckled and their eyes met, sharing a smile in the end.

"You say that like it's a bad thing, Kurt." Shane chose not to comment on the silent exchange. Sofie tried her best to distract Brittany from saying something that would make Kurt want to run away by making her get the Transfiguration book from the shelf. Shane grinned at the two girls and Sofie began creeping away, dragging Brittany along by the back of her shirt.

"It is, because I live with _you _for the most of the year." He countered with a quirk on an eyebrow.

Shane laughed and glanced at Sofie for an excuse to get them out of the way. "Shane, dearest Shane." The Ravenclaw mused with a little too much sweetness for it to seem real.

"Yes?" Shane replied, polite and already stepping away from Kurt and Blaine.

"Would you be a dear and help me get a Charms book that's way too high for me to reach?"

"Absolutely!" Shane, Sofie, and Brittany jogged away as soon as they were out of eyeshot, giggling all the way with the Charms section on the opposite direction.

Kurt wanted to turn them all into insects and put them in a jar and keep them that way forever. This was all so painfully obvious. Surely Blaine could already tell that he liked him but he prayed that Blaine couldn't hell _how much _he liked him. They were both quiet and it was killing Kurt. He didn't know if he wanted to run away or stay, he didn't know where he should look, he didn't know what to do except breathe. All conversation starters left him and apparently left Blaine too. Kurt figured he was mortified. Kurt wasn't Blaine's type and Blaine was going to _have to _shoot him down as gently as he could. Kurt was ready for that. _If you're going to reject me, do it now before I run away and fret about it for days and days and days_. Kurt thought.

Blaine spoke first, relieving Kurt of the silence that went on forever. "So… Wanna get some ice cream later?" Kurt gasped through his nose, biting down on his lips to keep them from smiling too widely. His heart gave one, hard thump against his chest and Kurt was sure it stopped afterwards. "You know, with your friends and…erm… We can talk more."

It was only when Kurt's heart decided to beat again that he replied. "Yes. I'd like that." Even though they already ate ice cream not too long ago.

"Great." Blaine moved forward and Kurt fought back the urge to lean down and pull him into a kiss. Blaine's hand wound around his arm and gave it a squeeze as he walked past. "We should check on your friends and my brother, who knows what they'll be up to."

* * *

><p>Hi, so... almost two years and no update and I feel bad. But also, this is all I have for chapter six. It's been an interesting two years and I wasn't able to write it because college became a thing and then my first novel became a thing and I've just been so caught up with a million different things that I wasn't able to write Magic anymore. I'm sorry, for those of you who are honestly curious about what goes on in the sixth and seventh years of Derek, Reed, Kurt, Sofie, Rachel, and Brittany. I kept telling myself that since these chapters are more like one shots than anything (in fact, I probably should've just cut them up into bite sized chunks from the get go) I could get away with not posting anymore. Honestly? I've never really forgotten this story, I just haven't had time to write it. I have a note book that dates back to the last time I updated. I know what happens to everyone. I know what songs the Nightingales are going to sing. I know who takes over as captain when Kurt and Derek leave. I just haven't had the time. Also, I'm working on a second original novel so...there's that.<p>

Maybe one day I'll write this. Maybe no one will care. But if you're interested drop by and leave me a message here and pick my brain for details of what happens next. I'll get back to you asap.

I hope you enjoyed 0.5% of chapter 6. It's all I've got to give you. I'm sorry again.

Love lots!


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